Creating a Perfect Past
by pinkpallet
Summary: When Gary Oak decides to change the past between him and Ash, it will lead to a series of unforeseen and dangerous events. Is changing the past always a good idea? Contains:- Palletshipping (slash, m/m), Time-Travel, slight AU
1. And It Ends In Tears

**Disclaimer:- Nintendo and Gamefreak own all rights of Pokemon. I don't own anything. This fanfic is just written out of love and for fun! I am not making any money from it.**

 **Author Notes:- I know Ash and others don't age in anime, but I am using the fan-theory of aging them a year per region. So Ash and Gary are sixteen and others are also aged accordingly, more details in the fanfic.**

 **I am using italics for Pokemon speech and single quotes for thoughts of the characters.**

 **This is mostly anime-verse AU but there could be a few things from the games and manga.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1- And It Ends In Tears**

 **Gary:-**

Gary Oak stared at the medium-sized box in his hands and smirked in a confident manner. It was a package, gift-wrapped in bright emerald green paper and tied with a dark red ribbon. He was sure that he had bought the perfect birthday present for Ash.

Today was the birthday of his childhood best-friend and ex-rival, Ash Ketchum. Gary personally felt that it was quite unlike Ash to celebrate his birthday in such a grand manner. But from what he had heard, Ash's mom had convinced him to stay in Pallet Town a little longer after returning from Kalos. She seemed to have realized that Ash needed a break and he was missing his older friends, so she had came up with the idea of having a reunion of his friends on the occasion of his birthday.

Gary was secretly glad that he was currently in Pallet Town and not in Sinnoh. He wasn't sure whether he would've been able to come from Sinnoh in time and he didn't wanted to miss this occasion. He was certain that Ash would be really glad to see him again and would probably introduce him to everyone as his first friend and rival. Gary's smirk grew wider at this thought.

" _bree-on_ ", the sound of his Pokémon pulled Gary out of his musings.

"Just a minute, Umbreon," he spoke to one of his most trusted Pokémon and constant companion. Gary hastily checked himself in the mirror and felt reassured by the fact that he had applied just the right amount of hair-gel. He didn't know why, but when he had told his grandfather and Tracey that it would take him at least a couple of hours to get ready for the party they had simply shook their heads and left earlier asking him to come later.

Gary stepped away from the mirror, holding the package in one hand and Umbreon's Pokeball in the other.

"How do I look Umbreon?" he asked the dark-type mon who had been lazily lying on the floor, probably feeling a little bored.

She slowly opened a crimson eye and gave him a reassuring, " _Umbreon"._ Gary smiled and tapped the button on his Pokeball. The red and white metal orb grew in size and opened, producing a bright light which soon engulfed the beautiful Pokemon.

"Now you rest till we reach the party," Gary said once Umbreon was inside her Pokeball and patted the metal ball in a kind manner.

He had came to stay with his grandfather during his temporary break from doing research in Sinnoh. While leaving the house he checked that all the Pokemon were in their Pokeballs and made sure to lock the house and lab properly, so that no intruder or Pokemon thieves could come inside. He had quite some experience of people trying to steal Pokemon from his Grandpa's lab.

Just when he was about to leave, he had the strangest feeling of being watched by someone. Gary turned around but saw no one in the vicinity. He waited for a few more minutes and the feeling of being watched or spied upon increased with every passing moment. He couldn't be sure about it but he felt like he had heard someone's playful laughter in the surroundings.

After a couple more minutes though, Gary decided to shrug it off as a possible ghost-type Pokemon. He had done a little research on Misdreavus in the past and read loads of books on ghost-types. He thought perhaps some wild ghost-type mon had came near his grandpa's lab and was now playing tricks on him.

Gary however, was in no mood for tricks. He didn't wanted to get any more late for Ash's birthday party. He knew that Ash would be eagerly waiting for him, and would want to introduce him to his new friends.

So he hurried down the path from his Grandpa's lab, completely unaware of the fact that two large blue eyes were watching him with concern and worry from behind a thick cluster of trees.

* * *

The sound of noise and laughter increased as he reached near Ash's house. The little house was decorated with colorful bulbs which were casting a beautiful glow against the fading evening light.

The last time Gary had been here he had been an eight year old kid, now he was sixteen. A wave of nostalgia hit him as he remembered all the memories of him and Ash playing at his house. He had been really happy back then, Ash was his first real friend. Even after so many years Ash was someone extremely special for him, there was a reason he considered him to be his most important friend.

Gary was sure Ash felt the same about their friendship. He remembered how Ash had suggested that they each keep one half of the Pokeball even after their rivalry was over. He gently pressed a hand against his pocket where he had kept that piece of Pokeball which he highly treasured, even though he would never admit it to anyone.

'Ashy-boy would call me a sentimental fool!', he thought to himself.

With these thoughts in his mind, he walked up to Ash's house and pressed the bell.

The door was opened by someone who was dressed like a clown, and was wearing a white costume with pink-magenta spots on it. Gary was confused for a moment until that person finally opened their mouth to speak.

" _Mr. Mime!_ ", the person greeted loudly.

"Oh, so you are the Mr. Mime Gramps always talks about," Gary chortled with relief. For a moment he had gotten worried about whether this was supposed to be a fancy-dress party and he had misheard the instructions. All of his efforts for looking the best at Ash's party would have been for nothing had that been the case.

" _Mime_! _Mime_!", the Pokemon held out his hand and Gary realized that he wanted to see the invitation. Gary smoothly took out the invitation from the inner pocket of a fancy and expensive leather jacket which he had purchased specially for this occasion. The moment he handed the invitation to Mr. Mime, he stepped out of the way and beyond him Gary saw a room that was filled with people and Pokémon.

Gary wondered how many people had helped the Ketchums with the preparations because the entire place was lavishly decorated. It didn't looked anything like the place he used to visit in his childhood. All the furniture seemed to be pushed in a corner and the whole place was illuminated with bright lights. The air was filled with sounds of laughter, music and smells of delicious food items.

He noticed a pretty girl with brown eyes and dark violet hair, talking to an older guy with green hair and green eyes. He caught some vague words about dragon-types and Connoisseurs. He also recognized two Pokemon, Axew and Pansage, playing nearby. The two of them were talking in a heavy accent which Gary had heard before from researchers who came from the Unova region. This made him guess that they were probably from Unova.

Next, he saw another green-haired boy standing with a younger guy who was wearing glasses. Both of them were looking very concerned about something. Although the younger boy was looking a little annoyed too, and was constantly checking his watch. Gary saw that both of them were frequently staring towards the staircase, beyond which he knew Ash's room was located. A Roserade, Ralts and Treecko were standing near them. They were dressed in a way that was quite native to how poeple from the Hoenn region dressed for parties, which made Gary suspect that they were from Hoenn.

As Gary turned away from them, he saw a blond bespectacled boy who looked about his age, and who had came to the party wearing mechanic's clothes for some reason. He was being dragged around everywhere by a little blond girl who looked so similar to him that it made Gary conclude she must be his sister.

She was proposing to all the beautiful girls in the room and asking them to marry her brother much to the blond guy's embarrassment. Gary couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. They had a little Dedenne and Bunnelby following them. Gary wondered whether they were from Kalos, the region where Ash had recently been for a journey.

As Gary made his way through the thick crowd he realized that they all must be Ash's friends. He thought to himself, 'Ash must have became really good at making friends.'

Gary had met some of his friends when they had bumped into each other in Sinnoh and before that back when Gary was a trainer. But he still found it a little astonishing that Ash had managed to make so many friends. It was especially surprising when he remembered how the two of them didn't really had any other friends when they were young and always used to hang out together.

He was slightly startled when someone put a hand on his shoulder and said, "There you are! Did you finished applying enough hair-gel?" the person asked in a slightly mischievous tone.

"Obviously Tracey," Gary replied with a little laugh, once he realized that the person was Tracey Sketchit, Professor Oak's assistant.

"Where is Gramps?" Gary asked him.

"Professor Oak had been waiting for you along with me until a few minutes ago. But an emergency happened so he rushed to see whether everyone was alright," Tracey answered.

"Wait, what emergency?" Gary asked feeling confused by Tracey's vague answer, " Are Ash and his mom alright?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious. Actually Ash and May were stuffing up cookies before the party began, and it somehow turned into a competition of who could eat more because they are both quite popular for their insatiable hunger. And they both got ill after eating way too many cookies, so now others are treating them," Tracey finished.

"Hold on a sec, why was my sister competing with Ash about who could eat more? She doesn't really eat as much as he does," Gary said now feeling completely baffled.

"Oh, I didn't meant your sister. I was talking about Ash's friend May from the Hoenn region," Tracey told him. "Her brother and friend are standing over there," he added and waved towards the green-haired guy and the younger bespectacled boy standing near the staircase whom Gary had noticed earlier.

He didn't knew these people but one thought sharply prodded at the back of his mind, "Did you said Ash is ill? That too on his birthday of all days?"

Tracey nodded and told him, "Yeah, his mom, Brock, Professor Oak and others are trying to make him and May feel better. They had told me not to tell anyone because it might disrupt the mood of the party. They should be back in some time."

"I need to go and see him," Gary muttered. He hoped Tracey didn't notice the concern in his voice but the smile on the other male's face made it clear that he had realized that Gary was worried about Ash.

"Ash is in his room at the top of the staircase. Should I show you where it is?" Tracey asked.

"Nope I know where it is. I had been there loads of times as a kid," Gary replied and hurried towards the stairs.

Gary was quite sure of finding Ash's room on his own. He had been there as a kid plenty of times after all, and it wasn't as if the Ketchums's house was incredibly big for someone to get lost in it.

Confidently, he stepped into an open room at the end of the stairs and realized that it wasn't like the room he remembered at all. It took him a couple of minutes to realize that this was probably Ash's mom's bedroom.

He couldn't believe that he had forgotten a detail which was such an important part of his childhood. Especially when he had such a good memory and could remember all the details about Pokemon and other things very well. He tried to convince himself that it was just the loud music at the party which had made him forget something so important.

Feeling a little dejected, he turned around and noticed that there was another room with a similar door on the opposite end of the passage. It's door was closed.

'This must be Ash's room,' he thought to himself.

He went near it and just when he had placed a hand on the knob of the door he heard the voice of a girl say,

"He used to be really arrogant back then, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but he had matured a lot when we met him in Sinnoh, hadn't he Ash?" this time a guy spoke.

Gary paused at the door, wondering who they were talking about.

"Doesn't change the fact that he had a huge ego back when he was a trainer. Sometimes I wonder whether he has still got some of that ego," Ash Ketchum replied, sounding tired and a little angry for some reason.

Gary slightly pushed the door open, and saw that Ash and a brunette girl were sitting on his bed, clutching their stomachs and looking extremely pale. He recognized Brock, who was standing near a table and putting the potions from different bottles in two large flasks.

Ash's Pikachu was sitting besides Ash and nuzzling him comfortingly which made the raven-haired trainer pat Pikachu's head, although he still looked a little lost and angry.

" _Pika!_ " the small yellow rodent let out a cute squeal.

"I don't know why they are showing the re-runs of old Johto league matches today. That's what reminded you of his earlier behavior, right?" Gary heard his grandfather's voice.

He edged slightly more inside the room, and saw his grandfather, Ash's mom, Dawn and Misty watching something on the television in Ash's room. As Gary stared at the screen for a little longer he realized that it was a rerun of his and Ash's Johto league match. And then another realization hit him like a strong thunderbolt, _they had been talking about him._

"It's a good thing they are showing this though. You can watch something on your birthday instead of just being all sick," Misty said to Ash in a slightly scolding tone, and then continued, "I still don't understand why the two of you were stuffing up so many cookies before the party?"

"I am sorry," the girl named May muttered in a small voice.

" Don't worry May, it's not your fault. I saw Ash challenge you for the eating competition," Misty said to her in a kind voice.

"Hey, I didn't knew we would get really ill! Don't blame me like that," Ash said angrily. Then Gary saw Ash's eyes dart towards the television where his Charizard had just defeated Gary's Scizor. Ash smiled in a satisfying manner which Gary found disturbing for some reason.

"Ash, sweetie, calm down. There is no point in getting angry over something that has already happened," his mom told him in a soothing voice.

"I still don't understand what everyone was talking about a while back though," Dawn suddenly spoke from her place on the couch in front of the television.

"About what Dawn?" May asked her.

" About Gary I meant. He had seemed really nice when I had met him in Sinnoh. Wasn't he always like that?" she asked the others.

Gary suddenly felt his heart-beat increasing as he heard Dawn's question and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He had never had any problem of nerves but the thought of hearing a bunch of people state their opinion about him, especially when said bunch included Ash and his grandfather as well, was highly disconcerting.

"You are lucky Dawn, you never got to see the worse of him," Ash muttered darkly.

"What does that mean?" Dawn asked sounding confused.

"It means that Gary Oak used to be an arrogant, egoistic, over-confident and extremely rude..." Misty stopped mid-way and suddenly glanced towards Professor Oak, looking a little guilty.

"I am sorry Professor Oak," she spoke looking slightly ashamed.

"There is no need to say sorry Misty. You are right about my grandson. Unfortunately, Gary was extremely immature back when he used to be a trainer. Sometimes, I feel my own negligence towards him and his sister was the cause for it. At any rate I am happy that becoming a researcher has done him good," his grandfather finished speaking.

Gary couldn't believe his ears. He knew he hadn't exactly been nice to Ash in the past, but he would have never imagined all of them talking about him behind his back. Even his own grandfather wasn't defending him.

"He used to call me a loser," Ash spoke, his voice sounding really bitter now. "We used to be best friends when we were kids but he just threw all of that away. He started taunting and ridiculing me in front of large crowds. We had planned to travel together when we were kids, but he suddenly decided that he hated me and wanted to travel with a group of cheerleaders in a sports car."

Gary couldn't believe that Ash was actually saying all this and yet he knew it was the truth. He wanted both to run away from there before he had to hear any more of it and to go and tell Ash that he hadn't really meant those insults in a serious manner. But he just remained rooted at the spot frozen with shock.

"He used to tease me about my lack of knowledge on Pokemon," Ash continued, "As if he had forgotten that all of his extra knowledge came from Professor Oak. I didn't had that advantage, and I wasn't able to come to your place any longer once he started teasing me," Ash finished glancing in Professor Oak's direction.

"I know Ash, but I think he was just being immature back then. Gary really considers you to be his most important friend," Gary's grandfather tried to explain.

Gary felt a little comforted by the fact that his grandfather was finally saying something in his defense. But that feeling quickly evaporated the moment he heard Ash's next words,

"He never even apologized. And I don't think I am his most important friend because he never made me feel like one. In fact he made me feel like a fool because I..." Ash Ketchum suddenly stopped speaking, and looked a little alarmed for some reason.

But it was enough for Gary. He could feel his lower lip trembling and his eyes were burning with unshed tears. He knew he needed to get away from here soon or else he would start crying in the middle of a party. He never cried in public, and he cried very rarely to begin with.

He vaguely heard Brock saying something about the medicine being ready, and saw him approaching Ash and May with the two flasks clutched in his hands.

Gary turned around and made his way down the staircase as fast as he could. He saw May's brother and friend standing at the foot of the stairs. Both shot him questioning looks but he ignored them.

He saw Tracey talking to the trainers from Unova a little distance away. Gary was glad about not having to stop and talk to him since he wanted to get away from this party as soon as possible.

He had almost made it out of Ash's house, when he bumped into someone near the door, as a result the gift which he had bought for Ash fell down.

"Oh, I am so sorry. Here, take this," the person whom he had collided into picked up the gift and handed it to him. She was a pretty blond girl, with blue eyes, dressed in an elegant pink dress and a matching pink hat. A cute Sylveon was standing beside her.

"I don't want it," Gary muttered and gave the package back to her. He was suddenly feeling really angry about buying that expensive present for Ash.

"Wha-? But why?" the girl asked him sounding confused.

"It was for Ash but now it's of no use," he spoke more to himself than to the girl.

"Is it a birthday present for him?" the girl asked gently, still looking confused by his behavior.

Gary felt a little annoyed at her. Why was she asking him all these questions again? She was just another one of Ash's new friends. Friends who were important to him and whom he cared about, not hated behind their back like he did with Gary.

"Yeah, and I think you should give it to him instead. He would definitely appreciate it more if anyone other than me gave it to him," Gary replied, and before the girl could say anything in response he rushed past her.

Gary ran all the way until he reached his grandfather's lab. Once inside the house he hurried into his room and sat down on the edge of his bed.

He remembered every single word that Ash had said that evening and before he knew it tears were making their way past his eyes and down his cheeks.

Gary Oak wasn't the sort of person who cried often if at all. He remembered the last time he had cried. He had been eight years old back then and had just made the harsh decision of breaking his friendship with Ash. Now eight years later, he was crying again and once again it was because of Ash Ketchum.

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 **Hope you liked it!**


	2. The Legendary Guardian

**Disclaimer:- I don't own Pokemon.**

 **Chapter 2- The Legendary Guardian**

* * *

 **Ash**

The moment Ash Ketchum stepped down the stairs, he was surrounded by a huge cluster of friends, both old and new. He was quite overwhelmed by the multiple faces that were staring at him with love and affection in their eyes, several hands that were readily clasping his hand to greet him and the chorus of birthday wishes that echoed in his ears as all of his friends wished him at almost the same time.

He did a quick count and felt a leap of joy in his heart as he realized who all had came to his birthday party other than the friends he had already met earlier. He saw Max, Iris, Cilan, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, Tracey, Drew, Ritchie, Angie, Casey, Paul, Barry, Trip, Bianca, Alain, Sawyer, Tierno and several other familiar faces in the crowd. Most of them were also accompanied by their Pokemon.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Team Rocket hastily gobbling up food at the buffet table. But for once he didn't mind them. They had helped him a few times after all, so as long as they didn't attempt to steal any Pokemon or overstuff themselves he was okay with them. Although he guessed Brock's medicine would help them too in case they also ate too much.

But in spite of being surrounded by a sea of familiar faces, Ash felt a certain unease settle down on him. As though without consciously knowing it, his heart was waiting for someone to show up but that person was nowhere to be seen.

It took Ash some time to untangle himself from the large group of his friends. He saw his mom rush towards the kitchen, probably to bring the cake. His Pokemon were busy arranging some of the gifts that he had received in a neat pile.

"Hey Ash, I needed to talk to you about something," a voice spoke from behind him, and he turned around to see a very blushed up Serena smiling at him awkwardly.

Ash returned her smile but knew that he must have looked awkward too. Their conversation on a certain topic at the end of the Kalos league was still fresh in his mind, and he guessed in hers too.

"What is it Serena?" he asked her kindly. He was really happy and grateful about the fact that she had agreed to remain his friend even though he had told her that he didn't returned her romantic feelings. Now he was determined to make their friendship as comfortable as possible for her.

"I had bumped into a friend of yours on the way in. He looked really upset about something and told me to hand over his present to you, because he thought you might not want to take it from him," she looked really worried as she told this to him.

Ash was momentarily stunned. He couldn't understand why any of his friends would think that.

Before he could say anything to Serena, Professor Oak and Tracey arrived on Ash's side looking a little out of breath.

"Ash, have you seen Gary anywhere? He had came to the party but now it feels as though he disappeared in thin air," Tracey told him.

"We searched everywhere but couldn't find him," Professor Oak put in.

"Wait a minute!" Serena suddenly exclaimed making everyone startle a little. She turned the package in her hand and read aloud, "The label says- To Ashy-Boy from Gary Oak. So the person who handed me the present and left the party must be Gary," she concluded.

"Gary left the party? But why?" Tracey wondered.

Ash suddenly felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He saw Professor Oak rub his chin thoughtfully. His eyes met Ash's for a few seconds and Ash knew that both of them were thinking the same thing.

"Tracey, did you saw Gary going up the stairs towards Ash's room when we were treating him?" Professor Oak asked his loyal assistant.

"Yes, he was worried about Ash so he had gone to check on him," Tracey told them.

Ash felt shocked and ashamed as he heard this. If Gary had came up to his room and then left the party in anger than that could only mean that he had heard what Ash had said.

Ash had only said those things because the rerun of their match had reminded him of their old rivalry and Gary's old behavior. He hadn't wanted to hurt Gary's feelings.

He took the package from Serena and gently opened it up, even though his mom had told him to open the presents only after the party got over. Inside was a beautiful assortment of various evolutionary stones. Ash wasn't really the type who used stones to evolve his Pokemon but his eyes filled with tears upon seeing the gift.

"Ash, are you alright?" Serena whispered with concern.

"Yeah, it's just that," his voice choked a little as he replied, "I was saying a bunch of horrible things about him while he was buying a gift for me and was worried about me."

Ash cleared his throat and rubbed his eyes as he turned to Professor Oak and said, "I think I should go and apologize to him. He must be feeling really bad and it's all my fault."

Professor Oak put a hand on Ash's shoulder in a consoling manner and said, "Ash look..."

But just then his mom's voice came from the other side of the room, "Sweetie, the cake is ready! Hurry up, your friends are also waiting!"

"Ash, you need to go and cut the cake. As it is, everyone had to do a lot of waiting when you and May had fallen sick," Professor Oak told him.

"But what about Gary?" Ash asked. He couldn't really enjoy a reunion with the knowledge that he had made his very first friend upset.

"Me and Tracey will leave the party early and talk to him once we reach home. You can come over tomorrow and say sorry to him," Professor Oak suggested.

Ash didn't really liked the idea but it seemed like they had no other choice. Serena gave him a comforting smile while Tracey looked confused about the conversation as they made their way over to the other part of the room where Ash's mom and friends were waiting.

Ash noticed that his birthday cake was in the shape of a Pokeball. As he cut a slice of the cake and his friends burst into a chorus of Happy Birthday, Ash's mind went back to another Pokeball which had gotten sliced in half and whose pieces were treasured by him and Gary.

* * *

 **Gary**

Gary was busy splashing his face with cold water to remove any and all traces of the fact that he had been crying a couple of hours ago. Umbreon stood beside him on the cold and hard tiles of the bathroom floor, making soft soothing sounds to calm him down.

She and Blastoise had almost immediately came out of their Pokeballs when they had heard him crying. He had managed to convince Blastoise to get inside his Pokeball, or maybe the huge Pokemon returned after he realized he wouldn't fit properly in Gary's room, but Umbreon was adamant about not leaving him until he stopped crying. Gary had simply held her close and let the tears flow freely for a long time until he finally felt that it was enough and he needed to get a grip.

As Gary returned from the bathroom, drying his face with a towel, he heard the doorbell ring. He was a little surprised because he hadn't been expecting his grandfather and Tracey to return for at least another few hours.

As he went to open the door, he saw a faint shadow glide towards his room out of the corner of his eye.

'There's surely a ghost-type Pokemon over here,' he thought to himself.

He decided to find out more about it later and opened the door only to find Professor Oak and Tracey standing in front of him.

"What happened gramps? Why did you two came early from the party?" he asked them curiously.

"We can ask you the same question Gary. Why did you left the party so quickly and that too without telling anyone? Do you have any idea how much we all were worried?" Professor Oak asked him a little sternly.

Gary glared at his grandfather and turned away from the door. He then asked in an accusatory tone, "When you say 'we', are you also including a certain Ash Ketchum who happens to hate me?"

"Gary..." his grandfather's voice was much gentler now but it seemed like he didn't knew what to say.

"Ash doesn't hate you Gary," Tracey spoke in a low voice.

"Yes he does. I heard everything that gramps and others were talking about. They were having a nice little discussion about how I used to behave in the past. Talking behind my back," Gary muttered. His sadness had been replaced by anger now. He couldn't understand why he hadn't just entered Ash's room and said something in his defense.

"Ash was just upset because he was reminded of your old rivalry. He didn't actually meant any of it," Professor Oak tried to explain.

"I saw the look in his eyes when he was speaking. He definitely meant those things," Gary replied angrily and continued, "I can't believe he and his friends said all that. And you agreed with them too! You said I used to be immature!"

"It's the truth Gary," Professor Oak said calmly, "I never said anything to you but you were really immature back then, and so was Ash. Both of you were little kids. And you used to tease him in front of everyone, obviously he would be upset about it."

Gary let out a cry of anguish and frustration and stomped off in his room, slamming the door behind him. He couldn't understand why his grandfather wasn't able to see things his way. He had no other option but to push Ash away from himself back then.

He remembered Ash saying how Gary had never apologized to him. Gary knew if he ever decided to apologize he would have to explain to Ash why he was being rude in the first place. Why he had became so mean and arrogant. There were too many reasons and he was sure that Ash wouldn't find even one of them satisfactory.

"If only I could go back in time and change the past Umbreon, things would be so much different and better," Gary spoke to his beautiful sleek black Pokemon, his eyes closed tightly.

 _'Do you really want to go back in time and change things_?' a voice asked out of nowhere, and Gary snapped his eyes open with a shock.

For a moment he wondered whether Umbreon had spoken to him in human language, but then he saw a bright light in front of him.

The light was radiated by a cute green Pokemon who had bright blue eyes and was hovering in the air a few feet above the floor so that he was at eye-level with Gary.

"Celebi!" Gary gasped. So it wasn't some ghost Pokemon which had been watching their house all day. It was the psychic/grass Pokemon Celebi. The legendary Pokemon who was a guardian of the Ilex forest and who had the power to travel through time. He also realized that Celebi had probably just spoken to him using a psychic link which was a common thing among psychic types.

' _I saw that you were really angry and upset baby Oak_ ,' the Pokemon once again spoke through a psychic link.

"Don't call me a baby," Gary said, feeling his pride get a little hurt.

He saw Umbreon looking in confusion from him to Celebi as she couldn't hear what the other Pokemon was saying to Gary.

' _You are the grandson of my old friend Samuel Oak, so a baby in my eyes_ ,' Celebi replied with a smile and continued, _'Ever since Sammy and his friends helped me, I_ _have made it a point to visit Pallet town secretly for a few days every year and check whether everyone is fine. I was about to leave today but then I saw you crying and couldn't help revealing my presence,_ ' the Pokemon explained.

"Yeah, I was crying," Gary admitted, "It was because someone I care about a lot hates me because of how I treated them in the past." He was careful not to give away too much of information.

' _I heard your conversation with your grandfather. This is about your friend Ash, right? I have met him in the past too. He is a very nice and helpful person. Do you really want to restore your friendship with him?'_ the legendary Pokemon asked.

"Yes!" Gary exclaimed with as much emphasis as he could put on that word. He could never stress it enough just how important his friendship with Ash was for him.

' _Well, then I might be able to help you. By sending you to the past_ ,' Celebi told him.

"Wait, what? Sending me to the past?" Gary had always been curious about time-travel but he couldn't understand how it would help him in this situation, "How will it help to solve my problem?"

The Pokemon looked a little confused upon hearing this question, _'You were talking about going back in time and changing the past, so I thought your problem is something that can be fixed by time-travel.'_

Gary remembered that and almost laughed. As much as he would have loved it to be true, his problem wasn't one which could be solved by time-travel. At least, he didn't think so.

"Sorry Celebi, but I really don't think my problem can actually be solved by time-travel. But thanks for the offer," he said to the legendary who now looked slightly disappointed.

 _'Alright baby Oak, but if you ever change your mind, just remember that I am going to be in the woods surrounding Pallet town for the next few days because I think the trees here still need a lot more work to be done on them. And after that I'll return to the Ilex forest,_ ' Celebi told him.

"I'll remember that," Gary replied.

' _It was nice talking to you baby Oak, don't forget to plant trees in your spare time,_ ' with that the legendary Pokemon vanished, giving Umbreon a cheerful smile before disappearing.

Gary continued to stare at the spot from where Celebi had disappeared for the next few seconds. The researcher inside him wanted to quickly make notes of as much information as he could remember about this little encounter. After all, you don't get to meet a legendary Pokemon every day.

He still couldn't believe that Celebi had offered to send him to the past. Gary's curiosity was aroused by the thought of how time-travel would feel and what would be the experience of seeing the past again? He still didn't understood how someone can actually change the past. But after Celebi's proposal the thought refused to leave his mind.

Later when he went to sleep, his dreams became a mixture of Celebi and time-travels and Ash Ketchum shoving birthday cake into his face and yelling 'I hate you!'

* * *

 **Author Note:- So that was the second chapter. Hope you guys liked it! And thanks for those lovely reviews and follow/favs. They are really encouraging. :)**


	3. Into The Past

**Disclaimer:- I don't own Pokemon.**

 **Chapter 3- Into The Past**

* * *

 **Ash:-**

Ash Ketchum was walking slowly towards Professor Oak's lab feeling somewhat nervous. He was still tired from yesterday's party.

" _Pikapi_!" his little yellow companion tried to cheer him up as they made their way through the peaceful roads of Pallet town which were lit by the early morning sun.

"I know Pikachu," Ash said to his long-time partner who was currently sitting on his shoulder, "It would probably be alright. But I can't help wondering whether Gary would be really mad at me," he finished with a sigh.

They reached Professor Oak's house and Ash knocked on the front door hoping against hope that the Professor or Tracey would open it. But luck was against him as the door swung open and a certain dark-eyed auburn-haired researcher stood in the doorway, his eyes widening with shock as he stared at Ash.

"Hey Gary," Ash said uncertainly, he had no idea of what to say now that he was finally in front of his ex-rival and friend, "Can I come inside?" he asked after an awkward pause.

"Sure," Gary muttered and turned around quickly.

Something about his behavior seemed odd to Ash. "Gary wait!" he called out behind his hurriedly retreating back, "I wanted to talk to you!"

"Really? I thought you were here to see gramps or Tracey," Gary replied in an icy tone, still refusing to look at Ash.

"No, I came here to talk to you, about yesterday. Why did you left the party all of a sudden? And why did you asked Serena to give me the gift you had bought?" Ash asked him. He never understood why he was always so direct but he needed the answers badly. Above all, he wanted to make sure that Gary had not heard anything he and his friends were talking about.

Gary turned to face him and for the first time Ash saw the hurt and anger in his eyes. He also noticed that Gary's eyes were slightly swollen and puffy which probably meant that he had been crying.

"Well, why do you think I left the party Ashy-boy? Maybe because I am not interested in attending birthday parties of little losers who throw a tantrum about how they were treated many years ago," he replied scathingly.

Whatever guilt and sympathy Ash had been feeling was immediately forgotten the moment he heard the word loser again. He'd had enough of it when he was a kid and he was not going to tolerate it again.

"We both know who the real loser is Gary. Did you saw the rerun of our match yesterday?" he asked Gary.

"That match doesn't mean anything. Your Charizard beat my Blastoise very narrowly," Gary said angrily.

"Looks like you are the one throwing a tantrum about the result of that match, huh?" Ash asked in a sarcastic manner. He didn't really wanted to pick a fight with Gary but he was absolutely done with his behavior.

"At least I don't talk behind people's back," Gary said with a hint of finality in his tone, "And if you have came here to pick a fight with me then I am not interested."

Gary made to leave the room but Ash caught his arm. "I hadn't meant to talk behind your back like that. They were showing the rerun and that's how the topic of our old rivalry came up."

"And it looks like you are still mad about it," Gary spoke sounding tired and upset.

"Anyone would be! You broke up our friendship for no reason and started insulting me in public. I had no idea why you had suddenly became like that and I still don't know," Ash knew he sounded really bitter as he said all this. It was the first time either of them had mentioned about their friendship in the past. Ever since Gary had broken up their friendship, both of them seemed to have made an unspoken agreement of never mentioning that they were anything more than rivals in the past ever again.

Gary opened his mouth and closed it again. He seemed to be struggling for the right words. At last he said, "I am sorry. But I can't tell you why I became like that. You won't believe me anyways."

This made Ash angry. After so many years they were finally talking about that topic and Gary was still refusing to tell him why he had started behaving like that. "Well, it's not as if you can go in the past and actually change your behavior. So you might as well tell me the reason for it so that we can start our friendship from the beginning again," Ash spoke feeling extremely annoyed.

He had expected some angry or harsh reply from the brunette. What he hadn't expected was for him to stare at Ash with surprise on his face and then ponder on something for the next few minutes. After some time he slowly asked Ash, "But even if we continue our friendship now, wouldn't you always keep a grudge against me for how I treated you in the past? Wouldn't you hate me for never being able to tell you why I had started behaving like that?"

"I can never hate you Gary," Ash replied but he wasn't sure that the researcher heard him. He seemed to be lost in some world of his own.

"If I go to the past I can change this. And there are so many other important things that I can change too," Gary spoke feverishly. He was staring down at his shivering hands and his eyes almost seemed to emit a glow. Ash wondered whether this is how he looked every time he made a new discovery.

He didn't understood anything that Gary just said, so he asked, "Gary what are you talking about? How can you go to the past?"

It was as if Gary had suddenly realized that Ash was present in the room as well. He jerked his head up to look at him and said, "I know a way, but it will require some planning and preparation. If I do this right I can change so many things. I'll see ya later Ashy-boy, I have some work to do," with that he got up and hastily left the room

Ash stared after him feeling a little dumbfounded, "Well, that was strange," he said to Pikachu who sat on his shoulder.

"Pika," the little mouse replied with sympathy.

After a little bit of thinking Ash decided that it would be rude to pester Gary anymore if he was indeed doing some work and was going to be busy. So he went in search of Professor Oak and Tracey instead.

Ash found the two of them seated before a computer in Professor Oak's lab and hastily taking some notes. He decided that it won't be nice to interrupt them either.

"I guess we should just leave," he whispered to Pikachu who nodded his head.

Ash slowly made his way back towards his house, all the time wondering about Gary's strange behavior.

* * *

 **Gary:-**

Gary almost ran up to his room in a haste and sat down on his bed in a daze. Ever since Celebi had offered to take him to the past the idea refused to leave his mind.

Gary now felt like a fool for rejecting Celebi's proposal in the first place, although earlier he didn't had any idea of what he was supposed to do by going to the past. But now he could clearly see two important things that he knew he would be able to change if he could go back in time. And Ash's remark, even though it was carelessly made, worked as a motivating catalyst which Gary badly needed to make such an important decision.

He pulled a pen and a notepad towards him in which he had been making notes all night. Dates, places, important events from the past which he remembered, events which he wanted to change, possible plans on how to alter the past was all written in a neat and tidy manner, something the researcher was quite used to.

He decided to take the first step in his plan and called Professor Rowan.

"Ah, hello Gary. How are you?" he heard the slightly gruff but kind voice of Professor Rowan from the other end of the phone.

"I am fine Professor, thanks for asking," he replied.

"I hope you are enjoying your vacations, young man. Or are you missing your work already?" the Professor asked.

"Actually Professor, I had called you for something related to work. Ever since I returned to Pallet Town I had been feeling a little home-sick. So I was wondering whether it would be okay if I stayed a little longer in Pallet? And worked with my grandfather for some time?" he asked. Gary was hoping against hope for the Professor to say yes, as a large part of his plan depended upon him getting permission from his boss.

"He heard Professor Rowan laugh at the other end of the line, "Honestly Gary, is this even a question? Of course you can stay a little longer if it makes you feel better. I always felt you over-worked yourself and badly needed some break," he paused and continued, "And working with your grandfather is an excellent idea. He should also know how well I have trained you."

"Thanks Professor," Gary replied feeling some of his worry ebb away. Then he asked in a tentative manner, "And Professor Rowan, I was wondering whether you could send a recommendation about me for my grandfather? Something that contains a list of all of my achievements while I was working with you."

"But why would you need that? Wouldn't your grandfather already know how exceptionally talented you are?" Professor Rowan asked sounding a little confused.

'Except that his past-self won't know,' Gary thought to himself.

"He knows it Professor, but I wanted everything to be professional. I don't want him to take this casually just because I am his grandson," Gary hoped his reasoning didn't sound too vague.

"Haha, you and your silly worries young man," Professor Rowan chuckled looking amused, "But fine, I'll make a nice list of your achievements and send it to you in a few hours."

"That would be great Professor, thank you so much!" Gary replied feeling both happy and relieved. His plan was progressing quite well so far.

"No problem Gary, I hope you enjoy your time in Pallet town," Professor Rowan said and with that came the soft 'click' of putting down the receiver.

Gary put down the receiver at his end too. Now he had to get to the second phase of the plan. He carefully started packing his bag with whatever he thought would be useful in the past. It included six of his most trusted Pokemon, some food for himself and his Pokemon, lots of notes about all the details he could remember from eight years ago, a make-up kit to disguise himself, old photographs, spare clothes, his laptop and even a little guide-book on how to talk to little kids suffering from complex problems.

With his bag packed and Professor Rowan's reply on the way, he decided to go downstairs and talk to his grandfather and Tracey before leaving for the past. A part inside him felt guilty about arguing with his grandfather the previous night.

He saw his grandfather and Tracey in the lab exchanging some notes about the various Pokemon kept in the lab.

"Ah! There he is! I am sure Gary would definitely be able to help us with this," his grandfather said in a cheery tone and Gary felt a pang of guilt as he realized that his grandfather was trying to make up for yesterday's argument even though it was technically Gary's fault.

"Sure, what is it gramps?" Gary asked and was handed a bunch of notes about the Pokemon at the lab. Professor Oak and Tracey had been making a detailed classification of the eating habits of all the Pokemon. Although, he noticed that his grandfather was tactful enough to not give him notes about Ash's Pokemon, most likely because of yesterday's events.

He spend the next few hours helping his grandfather and Tracey to sort and classify all the information. As always, he was amazed by the number of Pokemon his grandfather's lab could hold.

"Very good Gary! You are really good at this, I don't know what we would have done without you," his grandfather spoke in an affectionate tone and patted his back.

"Yeah Gary you are really good," Tracey praised him as well.

Gary looked at both of them and felt home-sick for real. He was planning on leaving them and everyone else he was familiar with behind for who knew how long and go back to a time which he would have preferred to just forget.

He didn't knew what to say in response to them so he just smiled sadly and went back to his room where Professor Rowan's e-mail was waiting for him. As Gary took a copy of it, he realized that all of his preparations in the present were done and he now must go and find Celebi in the woods, he hoped the Pokemon was still there just the way he had said.

Gary clenched his fist in determination, he was now ready to go to the past.

* * *

 **Ash:-**

Ash sighed and stared at his three friends who were staying with him. Most of his friends had left after the party but Ash was glad that at least three of them had decided to stay back because he always enjoyed the company of his friends.

Misty and Brock had said something about missing him and not getting to see him for a long time. So now they were finally making up for the long years spent apart. They all were getting to spend some time together again at last. Ash was certainly not complaining, if anything he knew he was going to enjoy it.

May had given a similar reason for staying behind but Ash couldn't help noticing some kind of apprehension in her eyes. He remembered how upset she had looked while saying goodbye to Drew and Max. He could tell that something was bothering the brunette, who was sitting opposite him on a sofa in his living room, her eyes barely glancing towards the romantic movie which Brock and Misty had chosen for watching that evening.

"What's the matter May? Why aren't you watching the movie?" Ash asked her. He knew May liked romantic things in general, so he found her behavior even more strange.

"It's nothing Ash, I am just feeling a little tired after yesterday's party," May told him.

"Are you sure? You look kind of nervous about something," Ash asked feeling worried for her.

"We can watch another movie if you don't like this one," Misty told her with a smile. Ash thought it was wonderful how Misty always managed to keep her temper aside while talking to May and was never angry at her. The two girls got along really well.

"No it's okay, I like this movie," May answered, and then asked Ash after a pause, "Hey Ash, how did your meeting with your friend Gary went this morning? Did you two patched it up?"

Ash wanted to groan with frustration and hide his face upon hearing that question. He had no idea what to make of Gary's behavior in the morning. But when he saw three pairs of eyes staring at him with concern and interest he knew he wouldn't be able to hide it from his friends forever.

"Well, we almost had a row. And after that he started saying something about going to the past. And now I don't know what to do anymore," Ash answered.

"He started talking about going to the past? What does that mean?" Brock asked curiously.

"He said he knows a way of going to the past and changing things. I don't know what that means," Ash replied. But even as Ash said this, a part inside him started worrying about Gary. Was he actually planning on going back in time and travelling to the past? Would he be able to come back to their time if he did that? Ash didn't wanted him to do anything crazy or dangerous.

"At least he realizes that some things need to be changed," Misty muttered.

"Based on what everyone was saying, this Gary sounds a lot like Drew," May observed, "Are you sure he doesn't have a crush on you?" she asked Ash, realizing a moment too late what she had said.

She blushed a bright tomato red color and so did Ash if his guess was correct.

"Come on May, he obviously doesn't have a crush on me!" Ash spoke feeling embarrassed and nervous for some reason.

"Wait, so are you telling us that that Drew guy who left today has a crush on you?" Misty asked her, looking interested.

"I think so. At least that's what he told me," May muttered in a low voice. Ash could sense that her cause of worry was somehow connected to Drew.

"I think you should go and talk to Gary again Ash," Brock suddenly said.

"Huh why?" Ash asked feeling surprised, he felt that he had already tried his best in the morning.

"Something about his idea of going to the past doesn't sound right. He had left the party all of a sudden and now he is talking about changing things in the past. I am worried about him," Brock spoke in a serious tone.

"I am feeling worried too," Ash told him, "I think you are right, I should go and try talking to him again."

"I'll come with you," Brock said.

"I think I'll come too," Misty spoke after some time, "I think I was being too harsh yesterday. If he has really changed then he doesn't deserve that."

" _Pika_!" Pikachu spoke from his place beside Ash, announcing that he was joining them as well.

"Obviously Pikachu, you won't be left behind," Ash told his little yellow companion and gently patted him on his head.

"Can I come too? I'd like to meet him," May asked them.

"Yeah, you can come too May! If we all go and explain about yesterday he would definitely understand," Ash said to his friends. He gladly switched off the movie, which he had found really boring anyways, and hurried outside. However, before leaving he grabbed the gift given by Gary and stuffed it inside his back-pack along with some Pokeballs. He was planning to have a Pokemon battle with Gary if the other behaved like a jerk again and return back his present, although a part inside him was concerned for Gary at the same time.

As Ash and his friends got near Professor Oak's lab, they noticed a figure hurrying down the path in the direction of the woods.

"That's Gary, I wonder where he is going?" Brock asked while staring after the figure.

"Let's go and see," Ash said and hurried after Gary. His friends and Pikachu quickly followed as well.

Ash followed Gary for quite some time into the woods, he finally came to a halt in front of a few trees. He peered through a narrow gap between the trees and saw a little clearing, a greenish light shone brightly in the empty space.

"What's happening?" Misty asked from behind him.

Ash turned and saw his friends and Pikachu standing behind him. Pikachu finally jumped on top of his shoulder to get a better view of things.

Ash turned again towards the little gap and gasped.

"It's Celebi! Gary is talking to him," he told the others.

"Celebi huh? Now I understand what he meant when he told you that he was going to the past," Brock spoke, looking deep in some thought.

In the cool evening breeze Gary's voice got clearly carried over to them as they heard him say, "I have made my decision Celebi. I really want to go to the past and change things for good. There are lots of important events in my life which I can change and I don't want to waste this opportunity."

"Celebi is a time-travelling Pokemon, right?" May whispered from the back.

"Yeah," Ash replied. He could hardly believe what was happening. Gary was really planning to go to the past. And who knew for how long? And all of this just because of what he had been saying yesterday. He was not going to let Gary do something so risky, something that might change everything and take Gary away forever.

He couldn't hear what Celebi said in response but he heard Gary's reply which was, "Thanks Celebi. I am glad you understand how important this is for me."

Then Celebi asked something and Gary said, "Yeah, I am ready."

Ash's eyes widened as he saw a greenish-golden light surround Gary. He found himself running before he knew it.

"Gary, no! You can't do this!" he shouted as he ran towards his ex-rival and friend. He wasn't sure whether Gary heard him or not but he heard his friends running behind him and saw Celebi turn to stare at the four of them in surprise.

Ash thought Celebi was about to warn them about something but before he knew it he found himself surrounded by the bright greenish-golden light and felt himself go weightless as his surroundings changed and shifted.

The last thing he heard before disappearing from the present was a voice saying, _'Be careful Ash Ketchum.'_

* * *

 **Celebi:-**

Celebi hadn't felt so surprised in quite some time. And that's really saying something because he was a legendary who had seen quite a few surprising things.

He didn't always used to send people to the past but he felt that Gary's problem was one which could be solved by time-travel. The boy had sounded really earnest when he had came to ask for Celebi's help just now. And Celebi couldn't forget how the poor boy had been crying so desperately the previous day. Sammy Oak's grandson deserved better than that.

He was certain that the boy would improve his past given another chance. Celebi felt really touched by the look of innocent eagerness in the boy's eyes when he had explained to him how he can restore his friendship with Ash Ketchum. Or more importantly, how he can save his parents who had died around the same time when Gary's behavior had started changing in the past.

However, what he hadn't expected was for Ash Ketchum and his friends to come out of nowhere. He was taken by surprise and couldn't be quick enough to stop them from following Gary in the past. But he had no idea whether they would end up in Pallet town just like Gary, or land in some different place. Jumping headfirst into time-streams was a dangerous thing and one could never guarantee where one would land if it wasn't planned from the beginning.

' _I hope everyone remains alright, and Gary is able to finish the work for which he has gone to the past_ ,' Celebi thought to himself.

* * *

 **Author Note:- Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! :)**


	4. The Assistant and The Shipwreck

**Disclaimer:- I don't own Pokemon.**

 **Warning:- There is some violence in this chapter. Also mention of character death.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4:- The Assistant and The Shipwreck**

 **Gary:-**

The first thing Gary noticed when he opened his eyes was a massive Oak tree towering in front of him. For a few moments he just stood staring at its lush green leaves growing in a spiral manner and it's thick grey bark which seemed to have worn down over the years.

All of his childhood memories of playing with Ash under the Oak tree flashed before his eyes. The very tree which was cut down a few months before they had left Pallet town to start their respective journeys. One of the first signs of being in the past.

He could smell warm summer air in the surroundings and the sun scorched brightly above him. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the bright sunlight and squinted at the wide pathway that lay beyond the tree. He knew this route very well. He was currently standing at the outskirts of Pallet town and this road would take him to the place where he had an important job to do.

As he walked past the tree towards the road he remembered something. When Celebi was just about to send him to the past he had heard an all too familiar voice. He had felt for a moment as if Ash was calling out to him and asking him to stop. But he couldn't be sure. And how could it be Ash anyways? He didn't knew anything about Celebi or Gary's plan.

'I must have imagined it,' Gary thought to himself and continued on his way.

* * *

 **Ash:-**

Ash Ketchum opened his eyes and almost lost his balance. He hastily grabbed the hand of someone standing beside him and looked around. He and his friends had landed on a small rock right in the middle of an ocean. There was barely enough space for all four of them to stand properly.

"Ouch! Ash don't grip my hand so tightly!" he heard Misty's angry tone from beside him.

"Sorry!" he yelped and immediately let go her hand and scanned their surroundings. The sea was bellowing loudly around them and cold spray of saltwater hit their faces every time the waves hit the rock.

"How did we ended up over here? Do you think it's because of Celebi?" May asked.

"I think this might have something to do with Celebi's time-travel abilities," Brock spoke, looking deep in thought.

"You mean Celebi sent us here?" Ash wondered, and then a fear that almost bordered on panic crept up inside him.

"Where's Gary?" he asked loudly, "He was right in front of us before we came here! I was running towards him. Where did he disappeared?"

"You don't think he fell into the ocean right?" May asked looking worried, "This rock is really very slippery."

"We need to send our water-Pokemon to search for him," Ash said, his hand already on Greninja's Pokeball. He was hoping against hope that Gary had landed in some different place and not fallen in the ocean. But if he had, then they needed to find him immediately.

"Greninja, I choose you!" he said and the Pokemon instantly came out of its ball in front of him. "I need you to find Gary. We think he might have fallen somewhere in the ocean."

Greninja quickly gave an affirmative nod and dove into the water in search of Gary.

"Misty, quick, use your water-Pokemon too, they would be able to help!" Ash spoke, the panicked tone still refusing to leave from his voice.

But Misty was staring at a scene right in front of them. Her eyes and mouth were wide open in shock. Ash turned to see what she was looking at and felt a chill run through him.

At some distance away from them several life-boats were floating in the water and rescue helicopters were circling the air. Even at this distance they could hear the screams and cries of people. Clearly, some ship had met with an accident.

Ash hated shipwrecks. They brought back bad memories.

"We should help them. But we need to find Gary too," he muttered feeling nervous.

"I'll go with my Pokemon to help them. You and Greninja continue searching for Gary," Misty told him.

"Gyarados, Staryu, Starmie, Corsola, Polytoed I choose you!" Misty yelled and threw the Pokeballs in the air.

She expertly climbed on Gyarados's back and told her team, "Looks like there has been a ship accident. We need to go and help them!" They immediately headed in the direction of the shipwreck.

"We will also go and help them. Wartortle go!" May shouted and released the blue turtle-like Pokemon from its Pokeball.

"Marshtomp go!"Brock cried out and released his water-type as well.

Ash saw May and Brock head out towards the shipwreck too. He knew the three of them would be able to handle the situation.

Greninja hadn't surfaced yet but Ash couldn't just patiently wait for him. If Gary had fallen in the ocean and was in danger then Ash wanted him out of water and safe as soon as possible. He looked at Pikachu standing beside him and told the little mouse, "I need to go and search for him, Pikachu."

" _Pikapi!"_ the yellow Pokemon gave a startled cry but Ash had already made up his mind. He put his back-pack on the rock, removed his cap, shoes and jacket, then taking a deep breath he dove into the cold waters of the ocean.

Due to years of travelling Ash had became a moderately good swimmer but the waves were too strong and he found it difficult to swim against them. He moved his arms and kicked his legs but it was almost impossible to get away from the pull of the waves. He was being pulled closer and closer in the direction of the shipwreck and the numerous life-boats floating on the wide ocean.

Water splashed all around him and he found himself gulping in a mouth-full of salty water. As Ash struggled to remain afloat he accidentally over-heard a conversation from the nearest life-boat.

* * *

 **Gary:-**

Gary had finally reached his grandfather's lab and was now standing in front of it. Not much had changed in all these years, except that he was quick to notice that the roof of the lab was purple in color. They had painted it red just a few weeks before Gary had departed for his journey. Another sign of being in the past.

He went ahead and cautiously knocked the door wondering who will open it, his younger version or his grandfather's past-self? So he was a little surprised when a young girl who had dark hair and dark eyes opened the door.

His sister had moved over to Johto almost immediately after he had started his journey and since then her visits had became less and less frequent. The last time he had seen her was almost an year ago. So much that he had forgotten that she used to live with them when he was a kid.

"Hello, are you here to meet Professor Oak?" May Oak asked eyeing his lab-coat suspiciously. Gary had remembered to put on his lab-coat before visiting his grandfather's lab as he felt it would help him in appearing more professional. He had also applied a ton of make-up on his face to make himself less recognizable. He now wore light-grey contacts, had bright pouty lips and had dyed his hair blond. He was also glad for the new hair-cut he had done while in Sinnoh, as it helped to distinguish him further from his past-self.

"Yes, I have always been a huge admirer of Professor Oak's work. And I had recently heard that he was in search of an assistant. So I thought of applying for the job," Gary replied his well-rehearsed story.

"And your name is?" she asked him.

"Harry Greenwood. I am a researcher from the Sinnoh region," Gary replied. He couldn't reveal his real name for obvious reasons.

"Alright Harry, come inside. I'll go and tell my grandfather," she said and went inside.

Gary knew his sister was used to people applying for the job of becoming his grandfather's assistant every few weeks. In fact, they had had a series of failure with assistants until the talented Tracey Sketchit had stepped in.

Gary still remembered how one of the assistants had accidentally set almost half of the lab on fire. Another was even more forgetful then Professor Oak. And a third one was suspended after he caused a huge explosion where the Voltorb and Electrode were kept.

Gary saw his sister go up the stairs to call his grandfather as he sat down on a chair in the living-room. He was a little surprised at the indifference he felt towards her. A part inside him was still angry at her for abandoning him after their parents' deaths. Although he hoped her behavior would be different if he managed to save his parents this time.

"Hello there, so your name is Harry Greenwood?" he heard a familiar voice spoke in a slightly more youthful tone.

Gary turned around and saw Professor Oak approaching him. He obediently stood up and smiled at the Professor in a respectful manner, something he had seen Tracey do a lot of times. Gary needed this job at any cost and he didn't mind using his natural charms for that.

"Yes that's me Professor Oak. I have heard a lot about you. I am a huge admirer of your work," he said in a polite voice.

"And you want to be my assistant?" the Professor enquired.

"Yes sir. I have always dreamed of becoming an assistant of the famous Professor Oak," Gary spoke in a smooth and silky voice.

"And do you have any prior experience of assisting any Professor?" Oak asked him.

"Yes, I have worked as an assistant for Professor Rowan from the Sinnoh region for the past three years. But I always thought that the subject of Pokemon and human relationships was more interesting than reviving fossilized Pokemon," Gary told him.

"Ah, I know Professor Rowan. Well, sit down Harry, we need to talk about this," Professor Oak said.

The next few minutes passed comfortably. Gary showed his list of achievements signed by Professor Rowan to Professor Oak, although he had been careful to change the dates. He had also found out that Professor Rowan had been busy digging for Pokemon fossils in a remote cave during this time, eight years ago, so that would make it difficult for Professor Oak to cross-check with him.

"You have revived an Aerodactyl and Shieldon!" the Professor exclaimed looking impressed, "And you have also researched on the relationship of humans with Pokemon revived from fossils. That would make it easy for you to learn things here."

Gary waited as the Professor went through his achievements, exclaiming every now and then. After that, the Professor asked him a few questions about Pokemon and Gary being the expert he was with any information related to Pokemon, answered them easily.

The Professor was looking really impressed now.

"Well Harry," Professor Oak said with a smile, "Looks like I have found a new assistant for myself."

* * *

 **Ash:-**

Ash was struggling and gasping to remain above water when he heard the following conversation,

"I don't care Keaton. We need to dispose of these experiments as soon as possible," someone in a nearby life-boat spoke.

"But Professor Castor if we throw them in the ocean they would get drowned," a voice sounding unsure and frightened spoke.

Ash craned his neck and to his horror saw a man holding three unconscious Pokemon in his arms. He was surrounded by a bunch of people who were all wearing lab-coats.

"Listen Keaton, if we don't throw away these experiments then they might find out we were responsible for damaging the ship," a woman's angry voice sounded from the life-boat, "I think you should go ahead and destroy the evidence Professor," she said to the man holding the Pokemon.

Ash only got to glimpse that man's face for a few seconds but he would have to admit he had never seen so much cruelty on anyone's face before. The man hauled the Pokemon above him and threw them into the open sea. Their life-boat was a little away from other boats, so they had the advantage of going unnoticed in the mass chaos and panic that was happening due to the ship-wreck.

"No!" Ash yelled and swam as fast as he could to save the three Pokemon. But just then a huge wave came down on him, he started feeling suffocated by the force and pressure of water from all sides and everything went dark.

He felt someone slapping his face and shaking him. Ash slowly regained his consciousness and felt a hard, scaly surface beneath him. He opened his eyes and found a very concerned Misty staring down at him.

"Why is it that every time I have to save your sorry ass from drowning?" she whispered angrily , but it looked as if she had been crying just a few moments ago.

"I don't know," Ash whispered, his voice sounding hoarse, "Where are we?"

"On the back of my Gyarados. Me and others were helping the rescue operation. And you were supposed to remain on the rock, not try to play a hero on your own!" Misty almost shouted at him.

"Sorry," Ash mumbled and then he remembered what he had heard before drowning.

"Misty, we need to save them! The Pokemon are going to get drowned!" he yelled loudly.

"Which Pokemon Ash?" Misty asked sounding confused.

Ash sat up and taking long deep breaths, told her the whole story.

"Someone called Professor Castor was trying to drown Pokemon? That sounds horrible!" she gasped, "We need to talk to Officer Jenny, I had seen her over here only a few minutes ago."

Just then both of them saw a motor-boat rushing in their direction. Officer Jenny was at the controls while Brock and May were seated behind her.

The moment the boat came near Gyarados, Officer Jenny smiled and asked, "And you must be the friends of these two, right? I am glad that you all helped in the rescue operation. And thanks to the help of your water-Pokemon we managed to get everyone to safety and there were no deaths as far as I can tell right now."

However, Ash noticed that May and Brock had extremely worried expressions on their faces. He couldn't understand what was wrong with them.

"Officer Jenny, we need to tell you something," Misty spoke in a troubled voice and then looked at Ash. He recounted his story to Officer Jenny, Brock and May.

"That sounds terrible! Why would anyone do such a thing?" May said looking upset.

"Are you saying that Professor Castor drowned three Pokemon? He is a very renowned researcher boy, you need to think twice before pointing a finger at him," Officer Jenny reprimanded him.

"But that's what I saw! That person's name was Professor Castor," Ash argued stubbornly.

But at that moment a tall blue frog-like Pokemon burst out of the surface of the water carrying three unconscious Pokemon. Two Eevee and a Cleffa.

"See, those are the three Pokemon I was talking about!" Ash exclaimed.

"Are they alive?" Officer Jenny wondered with concern as Greninja deposited them on the boat. He then turned to face Ash and shook his head sadly.

Ash felt a sudden cold dread grow inside him the moment he met Greninja's eyes. Greninja had failed to find Gary. He could have drowned and be miles down in the ocean right now for all Ash knew.

"The Pokemon are alive!" Brock exclaimed with relief as he felt for the pulse of each Pokemon, "I have some medicines in my bag which would heal them."

"Thank goodness!" May exclaimed with relief but then she saw the look on Ash's face and asked in a sad voice, "Did you found out anything about Gary?"

"No," Ash said in a small voice.

"Who is Gary? We can search for him," Officer Jenny said.

But before Ash could tell her anything, Brock interrupted and said, "He is a friend of ours but we don't think he came here. We were travelling in that ship but we didn't saw Gary anywhere, right Misty," he asked her.

"Yes Brock," Misty immediately started as if she had received some sort of cue from Brock, "I don't think he was on the ship. Our water-Pokemon would've found him otherwise."

"Well, if you say so," Jenny said to them.

"But-" Ash tried to say something but was immediately interrupted by Brock.

"Officer Jenny, I might be able to heal these Pokemon but they still need to be taken to a Pokemon Center. Can you tell us where the closest Pokemon Center would be?" he asked.

"Well, we are in the ocean near Seafoam Islands. I can give you a map and a compass which will guide you till there," she told them.

Ash couldn't understand anything of what was happening. He saw Officer Jenny give a map and a compass to Misty. Brock picked up the two Eevees while May picked up the Cleffa and then they jumped onto Misty's Gyarados.

Ash was still in a daze until May said to him, "Ash, you need to get Pikachu from that rock."

"Oh right," he muttered and immediately asked Greninja to bring Pikachu as well as his back-pack, shoes and jacket from the rock.

The moment Greninja was back and Officer Jenny was out of sight Ash rounded on Brock and Misty.

"Why did you two lied to her? Gary could have drowned in the ocean and we are not doing anything about it!" Ash shouted angrily.

"I don't think Gary ever came to this place Ash," Misty told him, "Our water-Pokemon searched everywhere."

"And it's not just that, while we were rescuing the passengers we found this newspaper that some of them were reading. Have a look at it," Brock said and handed the paper to Ash.

Ash couldn't understand what was so special about the newspaper until May nudged him and said, "Look at the date."

Ash saw the date and felt his mouth open in surprise. He let out a loud gasp and stuttered, "Bu-but this can't be true! This must be an old newspaper."

"We asked the passengers and they did confirmed that this is today's newspaper. I think Celebi sent us to the past. That's why I wanted to get away from Officer Jenny as soon as possible because we shouldn't interfere too much with the past. It can have drastic consequences," Brock explained.

"I think Gary must have been sent somewhere else by Celebi," Misty spoke bracingly.

Ash sank down on Gyarados's hard back with the newspaper in his hands, his three friends staring with concern at him and Pikachu gently rubbing his cheek against Ash's knee.

They were eight years in the past. Ash had no idea whether Gary had survived or not. He had seen a guy trying to drown three unconscious Pokemon and he couldn't do anything to punish that person. He felt like this was the beginning of some nightmare.

* * *

 **Author Note:- Hope you liked it! :)**


	5. Chibi Oak!

**Disclaimer:- I don't own Pokemon**

 **Chapter 5:- Chibi Oak!**

* * *

 **Ash:-**

Ash hadn't spoken all that much during their travel to the Seafoam Islands. He saw Misty, May and Brock planning their next moves but didn't felt enthusiastic enough to join them. He was too worried about Gary and angry at that Professor to think of anything else at the moment.

Ash saw Pikachu taking the responsibility of guarding the three Pokemon and carefully wrapping a blanket around them. Greninja could have returned to his Pokeball as all four of them were travelling on Misty's Gyarados but Ash noticed that he was still swimming next to them, always staying alert for any signs of danger.

"Brock, do you know where the Seafoam Island Pokemon Center is?" May asked him and Ash could tell by her voice that she was really tired. All of them were actually. This adventure had started all of a sudden without any of them having any time to prepare.

"Yes, we had visited it in the past," Brock replied.

"It will take us only an hour more to reach the islands if my calculation is correct," Misty told her, "And the Pokemon Center is close from the beach. We can rest there and the Pokemon can get treated."

"That's a good idea," May said. But then her expression grew worried as she asked, "What after that though? We have come eight years back in the past. How will we go to our time? And we need to find Ash's friend Gary too."

"We will come up with some idea when we reach the Pokemon Center. I can't think of anything right now," Misty replied looking concerned as well.

They travelled in silence for the next hour. Once they reached the beach Ash called back his Greninja and he saw Misty calling back Gyarados as well.

Since Ash was carrying Pikachu on his shoulder, Misty and Brock decided to carry the Eevees and May decided to carry the Cleffa.

Ash recognized the Seafoam Island Pokemon Center from a distance itself. He and the others rushed inside as soon as possible.

Ash saw Brock blushing slightly the moment he noticed Nurse Joy. But since they had an emergency case of treating the three Pokemon, Brock seemed to stay more in control than usual. Although Misty still kept one hand on his ear as a precautionary measure.

"Nurse Joy, we have an emergency. These three Pokemon need treatment as soon as possible," Misty spoke to her and gestured towards the two Eevees and the Cleffa.

"Oh dear! What happened to them?" Nurse Joy asked looking worried.

Ash quickly recited the incident that had happened some hours ago. He saw Nurse Joy's expressions transform from worry to anger as she heard everything.

"What sort of person throws unconscious Pokemon in the sea?" she wondered angrily, "They need immediate treatment. Chansey bring a stretcher!" she shouted to the pink Pokemon who assisted her in the Pokemon Center.

"Chansey!" the Pokemon exclaimed as she brought a stretcher hurriedly.

Ash saw Nurse Joy carefully arrange the three Pokemon on the stretcher and then rush towards the Emergency Room. "You wait outside!" she called to the four of them behind her.

Ash, Brock, Misty and May spend the next couple of hours waiting outside the Emergency Room patiently. It was only when Nurse Joy opened the door and told them that the Pokemon were out of danger that they felt better. At least one good thing happened in this whole time-travel mess. They got to save some innocent lives which was always a priceless thing.

"I noticed that the Pokemon were already given some medicine which helped to keep them strong until I could treat them properly. I wonder who gave them the medicine?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Oh, it was me Nurse Joy. Actually I am learning to become a Pokemon doctor, so I had some medicines with me," Brock spoke looking really pleased with himself.

" Your medicine was super-effective. I am sure you will become a great doctor some day," Nurse Joy replied and beamed at him.

"Thank you Nurse Joy! It really means a lot to receive praise from you!" Brock started gushing with happiness.

Misty immediately put a hand on his ear as a warning and asked to Nurse Joy, "Can we see the Pokemon?"

"Oh they are still resting. You will have to wait for a few more hours to see them. I think the four of you should eat something till then. You all are looking really tired and hungry," she commented.

Both Ash and May's eyes lit up at the mention of food. Nurse Joy showed them the small cafeteria at the back of the Pokemon Center and all of them quickly ordered a bunch of different dishes. Ash looked out of a window and noticed that darkness was rapidly falling. It was almost night-time.

"I think it's great that the Pokemon are finally feeling good. That Cleffa and the Eevees are adorable," May spoke while munching on her sandwiches.

"Yeah they are cute!" Misty agreed.

Ash was about to take another bite of his sandwich but he paused when he noticed that Brock looked quite pensive about something.

"What happened Brock?" he asked.

"I was thinking about Celebi. Do you remember that Celebi had met Professor Oak when he was a little kid?" Brock asked them.

"I didn't knew that," May said.

"Yes Celebi knew Professor Oak when he was young," Ash told her, "The Celebi from the past had accidentally travelled to our time with a young boy who was actually Professor Oak. And we had helped them to go back to their time."

"And this means that the Professor Oak from this time would also know about Celebi. If we go and tell him our story then he would believe us and might be able to help us," Brock explained.

"So are you saying that we should go and ask the Professor Oak from this time to help us?" Misty asked him.

"Yes," Brock replied, "I think we need to travel back to Pallet Town."

* * *

 **Gary:-**

Gary was standing near a small window in a room that was provided to him after Professor Oak agreed to give him the job of his assistant. Gary knew this room very well, it was going to be owned by Tracey in the future.

He stared out of the window, it was almost mid-night. He knew he needed to go to bed by now as he had to prove he was a good assistant to his grandfather the next day but he just couldn't fall asleep on a day like this when so much had happened. He was where he wanted to be but now he needed to plan his next strategy very carefully.

He was thinking about what to do the next day, when he saw a small figure sitting all alone in the grassy field behind the lab. Gary immediately remembered, whenever he was upset he used to go out and sit alone in the field of grass. He grabbed his lab-coat and went out to talk to the one person who he was most interested in.

"Hey there little buddy, why are you sitting here all alone?" he crouched down and asked in a friendly voice to the small figure who sat cross-legged on the grass.

An auburn-haired head turned around and two dark green eyes met his. He looked at Gary in an inquisitive manner.

"Who are you?" his past-self asked him in a slightly suspicious manner.

Gary remembered his grandfather telling him not to talk to strangers. He realized he needed to introduce himself.

"I am Harry Greenwood. Professor Oak's new assistant," he told his younger counterpart in a cheerful tone.

"He has to change assistants every week," younger Gary commented carelessly.

"I am sure I'll last more than a week," Gary replied feeling confident.

"Really," his younger counterpart asked in a challenging tone, "You don't look smart enough. Tell me, at what level does a Pidgey evolves?"

Gary winced a little. He had no idea he was _that_ rude when he was a kid.

"Level 18," he replied dully.

"And how would you beat a rock-type Pokemon?" his younger counterpart asked promptly.

"I'll use a water-type. But also keep a grass-type ready," Gary answered. He needed to stop this. He should be the one asking questions to his younger-self, not the other way around.

"You still haven't told me your name," he gently reminded the boy.

"Because you are still a stranger. I'll talk to you when my gramps introduces you to me," he answered.

"Oh, so are you his grandson?" Gary asked, adding some curiosity in his tone.

"Yes, and I need to leave now. Smell ya later!" the boy spoke as he got up and ran towards the house.

Gary let out a small sigh as he stared at the little boy running towards the house. It was going to be a challenge to gain his trust.

He spend the night trying to come up with different plans to talk to his past-self until he finally fell asleep.

The next morning he was woken up by the familiar loud screeching of some Pidgeys and Spearows. He got ready and came out of his room in an hour to find Professor Oak, May Oak and little Gary settled at the table eating breakfast.

"I was just going to come and wake you up," May Oak said without looking at him.

"Oh, alright," he replied awkwardly. His sister felt just as much out of reach as she had felt in the future. Although at least here she didn't knew him. Gary saw her lovingly putting extra pancakes in younger Gary's plate and suddenly felt a pang of jealousy. He had no idea why his sister had became so distant in the future.

"You can join us for breakfast Harry," Professor Oak said kindly. He must have noticed Gary standing awkwardly at a side.

"Thanks," he muttered and sat down at a table.

"So he is really your assistant?" younger Gary asked his grandfather, while May put some breakfast on Gary's plate without looking at him.

"Yes Gary, this is Harry Greenwood my new assistant. Harry, this is my grandson Gary," Professor Oak introduced them, and then commented, "Wow, Gary and Harry. Your names rhyme, haha."

"We have already met," Gary replied with a smile at his younger counterpart, only to find that the young Gary was eyeing him very curiously.

"You know what, if your hair and eyes were of different colors you would have looked really similar to me. Almost like my older version," young Gary observed.

Gary almost choked on his coffee. He didn't knew he had been that smart when he was a kid. Or so unnecessarily curious for that matter.

"That's a nice observation Gary," he replied, trying to sounding enthusiastic.

"Gary makes a lot of interesting observations about Pokemon too," Professor Oak told him proudly.

"That's because one day I wanna become a researcher like you Gramps!" little Gary said happily and dug into his pancakes.

However, the older Gary saw Professor Oak and May exchange a worried look upon hearing that. This was something new for him. It really felt like they didn't liked the idea of Gary wanting to become a researcher, something that was news for the older Gary.

"Gary, should I call Ash to play with you today? The two of you haven't spend much time together since your holidays started," May spoke in a tone which made it look like she was trying to change the subject.

"I don't wanna play with Ash," his younger counterpart muttered in a low voice.

"But why? The two of you were playing together every day until a couple of weeks ago," May asked looking confused.

The older Gary remembered everything clearly. This was the first snag in his and Ash's friendship. He had started avoiding Ash after their school got over and holidays began. This incident also reminded him of another incident that was to take place a few weeks later.

"Professor, where does the rest of your family lives?" he asked trying to sound innocently curious.

"Oh, my son and his wife are also researchers. They are currently doing a research project in Johto but they are going to return in a few days," the Professor told him merrily.

Gary nodded his head. If all went well he would succeed in convincing his parents when they return home to not return to Johto where an accident had cost them their lives. He still remembered the news of their death very clearly. An excavation site of Pokemon fossils had been hit by an earthquake and no one had survived. His parents were the ones leading the quest. This time when they return to Pallet for a short time, he was going to do everything within his capacity to postpone or even cancel their project.

He saw May purse her lips at the mention of their parents. Younger Gary simply looked indifferent. Gary remembered that he was quite used to his parents being out of sight for months back then. It wasn't until he lost them that he realized how much he had loved them.

Younger Gary quietly finished his breakfast and mumbled something about wanting to finish reading a book and slipped out of the room.

Gary couldn't really eat anymore breakfast so he left as well.

He found his past-self sitting on a chair in the living room and pretending to read a book. But Gary who was standing behind him saw that he was secretly looking at a hand-drawn picture which was hidden amongst the pages of that book.

Gary remembered that picture very well. It was a messy childish drawing of him and Ash which he had drawn to give Ash on his eighth birthday party. But when he had seen that a lot of kids from their school whom Ash never even spoke to had been called to his birthday party he had felt apprehensive. And then Ash had randomly called one of those kids his 'best friend', something that had been enough to upset Gary.

"That's a cool drawing! Is that your friend Ash?" Gary asked his younger-counterpart.

"No! That's not Ash and this picture isn't cool or important!" his past-self shouted angrily.

"Then why are you staring at it?" Gary asked him gently.

"I wasn't staring! It's not important!" younger Gary exclaimed and shut down the book.

"Have you shown this picture to your friend? He would really like it," Gary suggested.

"He isn't my friend. He has got new friends now," younger Gary replied harshly and ran away. In his hurry, he forgot to take the book with him.

Gary carefully opened the book and found the drawing that was hidden away. He had came to the past to fix things up. And now he knew just where to start.

* * *

 **Author Note:- Hope you liked it! Writing younger Gary was a little tricky but really fun and enjoyable. Chibi Ash would be coming soon too! :)**


	6. Back to Pallet

**Disclaimer:- I don't own Pokemon**

 **Chapter 6- Back to Pallet**

* * *

 **Ash:-**

Ash Ketchum was sitting in the back of a motorboat clutching Pikachu tightly in his arms and staring at the vast expanse of ocean surrounding them. The first thing they had done in the morning after finding out that the Pokemon they had saved were alright, was to find a boat that would take them from Seafoam Island to Pallet town.

Ash couldn't take his brown eyes of the water. 'Gary might be somewhere in this huge ocean, already out of my reach. If he is dead it's my fault', Ash couldn't help having these thoughts all the time. He wished he hadn't said those harsh words about Gary on his birthday. Deep down he knew that that was the reason why Gary had became so obsessed with the time-travel idea and probably resulted in his death.

He saw Misty, Brock and May munching on some chips but for the first time Ash didn't really cared about food. He had lost all of his appetite due to thinking about Gary for the whole night.

The three Pokemon had felt too scared when Ash and others had tried to leave them behind at the Pokemon Center. The two Eevees and Cleffa had thrown a tantrum and clinged themselves to Misty, Brock and May respectively. After that, the three of them had decided to take those Pokemon with themselves.

Ash saw Misty feeding little bits of chips to her Eevee while Brock brushed the fur of his Eevee. May's Cleffa had been asleep for a while but Ash was startled as he saw the Cleffa suddenly waking up and starting to cry loudly.

 _"Cleffa!"_ the Pokemon wailed in a very loud voice.

"Hey there, calm down Cleffa," May said gently, rocking the Pokemon back and forth and patting her head.

But the Pokemon wouldn't stop crying at all. It looked as though she was going through some really disturbing nightmare.

"Hey Brock, do you have any potion to calm down Cleffa?" May asked him.

"Yeah," Brock said, already rummaging through his bag, "Here it is. Nurse Joy gave me some new potions to calm down Pokemon because she felt that we might need them for these three," he said handing over the potion to her.

Ash remembered how the man named Professor Castor had called the three Pokemon 'experiments'.

"That guy must have done something horrible to these Pokemon. That's why they are having nightmares," he spoke feeling angry.

"Yeah, based on what you said that guy sounded really evil," Misty replied.

"Oh, so now you feel that that guy was evil? Then why did you stopped me from reporting him off to Officer Jenny?" Ash asked.

"We are in the past Ash. We shouldn't meddle with time, it can have drastic consequences," Misty told him.

"And you didn't had any proof against that person either. Officer Jenny would have never believed you," May said to him.

Ash glared at them and turned away. Then something occurred to him and he asked May, "Where had you gone off to early in the morning? I saw you leaving the Pokemon Center on your own this morning."

May slapped a hand to her forehead and said, "Oh, and here I forget to tell the most important person what we had been planning for him!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash asked sounding curious.

"Actually Ash, we realized that when we return to Pallet town, there are chances of some people recognizing that you are the Ash from the future. That's why May had gone to buy some stuff that would help in disguising you," Brock told him.

"What?!" Ash exclaimed feeling surprised upon hearing this but May had already moved from her seat to the one next to Ash's. She opened a bright yellow bag and pulled out a large straw hat and a pair of goggles.

"Try these," she instructed to Ash who put them on feeling that all of this was really very silly. What sort of person disguises themselves just because they are in the past? He wondered whether Gary would have done that and felt a strange ache in his heart.

"I prefer my usual league cap rather than this hat," he muttered but May had already opened her make-up kit.

He had no idea how May managed to expertly apply make-up on his face in a roughly swaying motor-boat but she did it anyways. And when Ash saw the result in a mirror he had to admit he looked much different than his usual self.

"You are really good at this," Ash told her.

"Thanks," May replied with a smile.

Almost irresistibly, Ash was reminded of another person who loved make-up and hair-gel, and he felt a sudden coldness settle down in his stomach. He knew his friends still felt that Gary had fallen somewhere else through the time-stream. Ash hoped that was true but if it wasn't then the guilt of what he had unknowingly done would always haunt him.

They reached Pallet town after a few hours and Brock paid the fare for the boat. It was late in the afternoon by the time they had reached Pallet and all of them were feeling really hungry.

"I think we should find a place to eat something," Misty suggested.

"Look! There's a restaurant down the street!" May shouted happily and pointed towards a restaurant at the corner of the street.

It looked like a typical ordinary place. Nothing fancy but nice and cozy.

Something about it tried to trigger something in Ash's memory but he couldn't place it. He followed the others inside the restaurant but the moment his eyes fell on the interior of that place he knew where he had came.

"Guys, we need to get out of here immediately," Ash muttered to his friends who were busy searching for an empty booth.

"Why? This looks like a nice restaurant," Misty asked him.

"Because I might get recognized over here," Ash whispered as his memory of the place came back quite clearly.

"What's that supposed to-" Misty's question was interrupted by a cheerful voice which chirped from right in front of them,

"Hello everyone! Welcome to Pallet House!" a slightly younger looking Delia Ketchum greeted the four of them.

Ash saw his friends look at her and then back at him in alarm. They were clearly confused because Ash was sure he had never mentioned about this restaurant to any of them. Pikachu looked as though he wanted to jump from Ash's arms into his mother's but was restraining himself because her past-self didn't knew him yet.

In spite of the danger of being recognized Ash had to take the lead because his friends were looking too shocked to say anything.

"Hello, we are new in Pallet town and we were looking for a place to eat something," Ash said the first thing that came to his mind.

"You have came to the right place! Pallet House is the best restaurant in this town. You'll love the food over here," the past-self of his mother replied enthusiastically.

"Thanks," Ash muttered, "We'll just find a place to sit then."

He hastily guided his friends to the first empty booth that they could find and squeezed in besides Misty while May and Brock sat on the opposite side.

"Ash, is that your mom?" May whispered.

"I didn't knew you owned a restaurant in the past," Misty commented.

"Perhaps we have been send to some alternate universe where Ash's mom owns a restaurant," Brock wondered.

"No Brock, my mom did owned a restaurant in the past. But we had to close it down because there were some problems," Ash told his friends.

"Oh, I am sorry to hear that," Brock said.

Just then, a waiter came to their table and they all quickly gave their orders.

Once their food had came they started talking again. May was really happy about the fact that her make-up skills had worked quite well and Ash's mom hadn't recognized him.

"I think we should still leave as soon as possible. My mom might recognize me if we hang around this place for too long," Ash said feeling worried. He had no idea as to what would the consequences be if someone from the past recognized them.

A couple of minutes later, Ash suddenly heard a bunch of loud noises coming from the front of the restaurant. He turned around and saw few men threatening his mother.

"We are telling you this for the last time young lady, if you don't close down this place, we will break it down using our Pokemon!" one of those men shouted angrily.

"What's going on?" Misty wondered aloud.

"Those men are hired by the owner of a newly opened restaurant. They used to threaten my mom daily and since we don't have any Officer Jenny in Pallet town she had to eventually close down this place," Ash explained. He could feel his blood boiling at the sight of those men.

" _Pika!_ " Pikachu let out a low growl, his cheeks sparkling with electricity.

They heard Delia say something angrily to those men, and after that one of those men shouted, "I don't think you will listen like this. Machoke go!"

Ash couldn't stand it anymore. " I am going to go and help," he told his friends and ran outside.

He was inwardly thankful for the fact that he and his friends had arranged to have Pokemon battles on his birthday after most of the party was over. Because of that, they all still had some of their most powerful mons with them.

"Swellow, I choose you!" he shouted and released the Pokeball which contained the flying-type.

"Machoke, use karate-chop on that useless Pokemon," the man commanded his fighting type.

"Dodge it and use double team!" Ash instructed to his Swellow.

Machoke got momentarily confused by the double-team attack. Ash used this exact opportunity and said, " Swellow use aerial ace!"

The mirror-images disappeared and the real Swellow used aerial ace on the Machoke.

"Machoke return," the man grunted with a disappointment upon seeing his Pokemon injured.

Another man sent out a Scyther. " Scyther use double-team!"

However before Ash's Swellow could do anything a voice shouted from behind, " Blaziken use flamethrower!" Scyther and his copies were surrounded by the blazing fire and soon the copies disappeared leaving a very scorched up Scyther behind.

Ash saw May, Brock and Misty standing behind him with their pokeballs ready in their hand.

"Do you really want to fight with all of us?" Brock asked those men in a calm but threatening voice, " I think it would be best if you leave now."

Those men glared daggers at Ash and his friends and finally left muttering amongst themselves.

"Thank you so much!" Delia said once those people had left, "I am really grateful for your help."

"You should complain about them to someone," Misty said glaring at the retreating backs of those men.

"I have thought about it. But there is no one in Pallet town to whom you can complain. It is a very small place," Delia replied.

"We didn't knew that. We are er, new over here," Ash said to her.

"Really, and where are you staying?" she asked staring at their little group.

"We haven't decided yet," Brock told her.

"Actually we are a group of travelling trainers who wanted to meet Professor Oak," Misty spoke and Ash was quite impressed by the way she had came up with a story which wasn't entirely false.

Delia thought for a while and then said, "Well, you can stay at my place if you want. I know Professor Oak very well, so I can take you up to his lab. And in the meantime you can rest at my home."

"We don't want to trouble you," Ash said hurriedly. He couldn't imagine staying in the same house where the past-selves of his mother and himself lived.

"Oh, it won't be a trouble at all! I love having guests at my place. It can get really lonely in this small town," she said to him.

Ash couldn't really see a way out of this. His mom could be very persuasive at times. He looked at his friends for help but they looked like they didn't knew how to turn down her offer either.

"Alright, we will come," Ash spoke in a small voice.

Ash and May asked Swellow and Blaziken to return to their Pokeballs. And once they had finished paying for the meal their little group followed Delia Ketchum to Ash's home.

Ash was walking at the back of the group. He wanted his mother to notice him as little as possible. Ash saw that Misty and Brock had managed to get their Eevees inside Pokeballs by now. But May's Cleffa was refusing to go in a Pokeball. The little Pokemon's eyes filled up with tears every time she saw a Pokeball.

"It's alright May, sometimes Pokemon don't like to stay inside a Pokeball. My Pikachu doesn't like it either," Ash told her while Pikachu shuddered slightly at the mention of his dislike for being in a Pokeball.

"I know Ash, but I am worried about Cleffa. She is really scared of something and I don't know what to do," May replied sounding quite concerned.

"You need to take this slowly May. If you keep trying you will eventually get her to trust you and maybe then we'll find out why she is so scared," Ash answered. He loved giving advice to May. He had mentored lots of young trainers on his journeys but May was the first person to learn things from him. It was really special for him in a way.

"Thanks Ash, I hope things work out with Cleffa," May said with a small smile.

"So, what are your names again?" Delia asked from the front of the group.

"I am Maria Sapphirestone. And these are my friends Mia Bluecascade and Brett Greyboulder. We are all from the Hoenn region," May replied in a hurry.

Ash understood why May was using fake-names but he didn't quite got why she had told that Misty and Brock were from Hoenn as well. When in reality they were from Cerulean city and Pewter city respectively.

"And what is your name young man," Delia asked Ash.

"Tom Redheart," May answered promptly before Ash could say anything.

"Oh, nice to meet all of you. I am Delia Ketchum by the way," she replied and continued walking.

"Tom Redheart!" Ash whispered angrily to May, " Where did you came up with that name?"

"We can't tell her your real name for obvious reasons Ash. So I came up with a fake name for you. It is the name of the protagonist in a romance novel I had once read," she told him.

"And what if my mom has read the same novel? She would realize it's a fake name?" Ash asked.

"Don't worry, the novel hasn't been published yet," May replied with a wave of her hand.

"Whatever," Ash mumbled. He still felt that his fake-name was silly.

"Why did you tell her that Brock and Misty were from Hoenn though?" he asked.

"We had planned that this morning itself. It would be easy for someone in Pallet town to check in Cerulean or Pewter. But comparatively difficult to cross-check in Hoenn," May explained.

Once they reached Ash's house Delia showed them the couple of extra rooms. Misty and May chose the spacious room overlooking the small garden at the back of the house, while Ash and Brock were left with a slightly smaller room. They thought it would be rude to stay over there free of charge so they had insisted on paying while they stayed at Delia's house.

Ash had taken a nice shower in the bathroom attached to his and Brock's room. But the moment he stared at his reflection in the mirror he realized that he was in for some trouble.

The make-up which May had done had gotten washed away. And he couldn't possibly move about the house wearing a straw-hat and goggles. So he just put on his usual league cap and pulled it way down on his face, trying to cover as much of it as possible.

He went in search of his friends and saw the two girls staring at a little figure sitting in the living-room, with surprise and wonder etched on their faces. Ash looked at the little figure and his jaw dropped open in astonishment.

It was his younger-self, propped up on a sofa and eagerly watching Pokemon battles on the television.

Misty walked up to him and whispered, "He looks so adorable! I didn't knew you were that cute when you were a little kid."

Ash startled and blushed a little upon hearing that. He saw his younger-self turn around and give all of them a wide smile.

"Hello, my name is Ash! My mom told me we are going to have guests in the house. Nice to meet all of you," he spoke in a cheerful tone.

"Nice to meet you too Ash," Brock said emerging from the kitchen wearing an apron. Ash guessed he must have been helping his mother with the cooking.

"Ash you have been watching the league matches all day long, why don't you go outside and play with Gary?" Ash's mom came out of the kitchen and asked his younger-counterpart.

Ash flinched at the mention of Gary. He was still very much worried about him.

Younger-Ash spoke in a small voice, "He doesn't want to play with me. He has stopped talking to me after my birthday party."

Older Ash remembered that incidence very well. Just a few weeks before his birthday Gary had been feeling upset about not having a lot of friends. So Ash had called loads of kids from his school for his birthday party, hoping that Gary would be able to make some new friends. He also remembered how angry Gary had been when he had jokingly called one of the kids his best friend. He hadn't really meant it and the other boy knew that as well but Gary had taken it way too seriously and wouldn't accept an apology at all.

"You should go and talk to him. If he is your friend he won't be able to stay angry with you forever," Ash said to his past-self in an encouraging tone.

"Really, you think so?" younger Ash asked innocently.

"Yeah, if there has been some misunderstanding between you then maybe you can clear it up," Ash suggested to his younger-version.

His past-self looked deep in thought for a while and then said, "I think he has misunderstood me. I'll go and explain everything to him."

With that he got up and ran out of the house in the direction of Professor Oak's lab.

"Wow Tom, you give really good advice," his mother said and beamed at him.

"Thanks!" Ash replied. He saw his friends and Pikachu smiling proudly at him.

But just then a small pink Pokemon came running out of Misty and May's room.

" _Cle! Cleffa!"_ Cleffa cried angrily as though she had just woken up from a nightmare and blindly ran outside the open door from where younger-Ash had just left.

"Cleffa, wait! Come back!" May cried and ran after her Pokemon. Ash, Misty and Brock immediately followed them.

* * *

 **Gary:-**

Gary had spent the entire morning and afternoon working hard at his grandfather's lab. Professor Oak was so impressed by his work that Gary had became worried of being over-worked on the first day itself. But luckily, he got a break in late afternoon.

Gary was glad about this because although he had gotten a lunch break too it was simply not enough to do what he had planned since morning. He took out from his pocket a neatly folded sketch of him and Ash drawn by his younger counterpart.

He then quietly slipped out of the house and made his way over to Ash's house. He had reached about mid-way up to the house when he saw a young kid with messy dark hair and brown eyes walking in the opposite direction towards him.

Gary couldn't believe his luck. He wanted to find younger-Ash and he was coming directly towards him. Okay, maybe not towards him but rather going in the direction of Professor Oak's house.

Gary was hit with a plethora of childhood memories as he continued to stare at the younger-counterpart of his best friend.

Finally, he stopped younger-Ash in his tracks and asked him, "Hey kid, your name is Ash right?"

"Yeah," younger-Ash answered with a smile.

"I am Professor Oak's new assistant. His grandson Gary wanted me to give this to you," he said and handed over the picture drawn by younger-Gary to younger-Ash. He knew his past-self would be really mad at him if he found out about this but he knew it was necessary to do that. He wanted Ash to see that sketch and understand how much Gary actually cared about it.

"Gary drew this, really?"younger-Ash asked looking amazed. It was a cute picture of Ash and Gary eating candies together.

"Yes, it was a birthday present for you," older-Gary replied.

"I should go and thank him. Thanks for giving this to me!" Ash said and ran towards Professor Oak's lab with a renewed vigor clutching the picture tightly in his hand.

Gary saw his best-friend's younger-counterpart run towards the lab and sighed in a contented manner. He was doing his job well. But almost immediately, he heard a loud screech of " _Cleffa!"_ from behind him.

A Cleffa came running down the street and halted beneath a large tree taking deep breaths. Gary being the observant researcher that he was noticed that the Pokemon was seriously scared of something. Almost as if she was going through some trauma.

Just then he realized that the tree beneath which Cleffa was standing was swaying violently. He realized the danger a moment too late.

He started running in the Pokemon's direction but knew he wouldn't make it in time. But at the same time he saw a girl sprinting at a fast pace towards the Cleffa from the corner of his eye. She hastily grabbed the little Pokemon and ran away as the tree collapsed with a loud thud on the ground.

"Oh Cleffa, are you alright?" the girl asked her Pokemon, "For a moment I was worried that I won't be able to save you in time."

The girl had tears in her eyes and the little Cleffa was staring at her with wide eyes filled with astonishment. Gary suddenly realized that this was probably the first time someone had been nice to the little Pokemon. He didn't wanted to imagine what might have happened to her in the past.

With a jolt of surprise he realized that he had seen the girl at Ash's sixteenth birthday party. She shared her first name with his sister. He felt another jolt of surprise when he saw three figures running down the road towards the girl and Cleffa. Brock, Misty and an older Ash Ketchum.

He and Ash looked at each other at the same time. Grey eyes met brown ones. Brown eyes stared in confusion for a moment, then widened with surprise and happiness once they realized who they were staring at.

Gary couldn't do anything more than stand in surprise as Ash Ketchum threw himself forward with full speed and enveloped Gary in a tight hug.

"I thought you were dead!" Ash whispered against him, "I thought I would never see you again. But you are alright. And alive!" he almost choked on the last word, sounding close to tears.

"Ash? What? How?" Gary didn't knew what to say. There were too many questions. And he couldn't think clearly about any of them. The only thought going through his mind was that Ash had hugged him. The last time he had hugged Gary they had been little kids. Now it suddenly felt different.

"Gary is that you? Why have you colored your hair?" Misty asked sounding confused.

"To disguise myself," he answered and then finally asked, "What's going on over here? What are you all doing in the past?"

"We came in search of you," Ash replied, "I was going to explain to you why I said all that stuff at the party. But then we saw you walking towards the forest and talking to Celebi and then you just disappeared in the time-stream."

It took some time for Gary to process all this. He remembered hearing Ash's voice just when he was about to step into the time-stream created by Celebi. "So did you followed me in the time-stream?" he asked.

"Yes," Misty answered, "But we landed in a different place. Brock figured out that you must have landed somewhere else but Ash was really worried. He thought you were dead!"

"I am alright Ashy," he muttered and gently detached himself from Ash's hug. He needed to think clearly about things right now. Ash and his friends coming to the past had only complicated his plans.

"Where are you staying?" he asked them.

"At my mom's place," Ash replied and hastily added, "But don't worry, she hasn't recognized us yet. And I think we won't get caught in the future either."

Gary simply nodded his head then finally feeling that he couldn't take any more of this he snapped and asked angrily, "What were you all thinking, jumping behind me in the time-stream like that? It could have been dangerous! And what if someone would've recognized you all? Here I was taking all the precautions to hide my real identity and you guys were just roaming around carelessly?"

"We weren't being careless! I had personally applied a ton of make-up on Ash's face and even came up with fake-names for everyone," the girl named May spoke looking indignant.

"Sorry, but I don't see any make-up on Ashy-boy's face. Unless of course it is some invisible form of make-up," Gary said to her.

"I took a shower," Ash muttered.

"Maybe you badly needed one," Gary retorted feeling his temper increase.

"There is no need to be so angry Gary. We were just worried about you so we followed you through the time-stream. And we took all the necessary precautions," Brock replied.

"But you don't understand!" Gary wailed now feeling frustrated at all of them, "You are going to ruin everything. All of my plans for changing the past would get spoiled."

"Why do you want to change the past anyways Gary?" Misty asked him.

"It's about me, isn't it?" Ash asked, "You want to change your behavior in the past and repair our friendship, right? But there is no need to do that. I have forgiven you and we can start our friendship from the beginning again. You have always been one of my best friends Gary."

At any other moment Gary would've been besides himself after hearing that Ash had called him his best-friend. But right now he needed to make himself clear.

"This isn't just about you Ash," he said to him, "I need to save my parents too."

"What?" Ash looked momentarily stunned upon hearing that.

"Your parents?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, they are going to come to Pallet town in a few days. And after that they are going to leave for a research expedition in Johto, where they will die in an earthquake," he spoke the last part with difficulty.

"And you want to prevent that," Brock said gently as a look of understanding passed on his face.

"Yeah, and that's why I am staying at my grandfather's place. I have disguised myself to be his assistant called Harry Greenwood," he told them.

"But we need to meet your grandfather. We wanted to go back to our time and thought that Professor Oak could help us with it," Misty said.

"I don't think my grandfather knows anything about time-travel. He didn't even knew that Celebi was spying on him," Gary told her.

"But then how will we go back to our time?" May wondered.

"I have arranged this with Celebi. The moment my job in the past is completed he is going to bring me back to the exact time when I had left. I think he'll do the same for you all," Gary guessed.

"Going back to the same time when we had left? That sounds alright, we won't miss anything," May said.

"And if Celebi forgets to transport the four of you I can always remind him the moment I go back to the future," Gary explained to them.

"That sounds like a good plan Gary," Brock said, "We will find something to do in the past while you do your job."

"And we won't let anyone find out our secret," Misty promised.

"And if you need any help in saving your parents you know whom to ask," Ash said and gave a tight squeeze to his arm.

"Thanks Ash," Gary replied with a smile. When he looked in Ash's eyes he felt as though half of the reasons which had made him come to the past didn't even existed in the first place. Ash could never hold a grudge against someone and his eyes only reflected concern, care and something else for Gary which Gary couldn't really understand.

"I'll see you all later. Stay undercover," he muttered and turned to leave when he heard May's voice,

"It was nice meeting you Gary!" she called out.

"It was nice meeting you too! And the way you saved your Cleffa was incredibly brave," he said to her.

She smiled and he made to leave. But just for a moment, his eyes rested on the little Cleffa. He couldn't understand whatever could have happened to make that Pokemon so scared and frightened. He hoped everything would be alright, but he had no idea how soon things were going to start falling apart.

* * *

 **Author Note:- Tell me what you think of the chapter or if you have any suggestions. :)**

 **Hope you enjoyed it!**


	7. The News

**Disclaimer:- I don't own Pokémon or any of the characters or places.**

 **Note:- Gary's parents are mentioned in this chapter. And I am sorry in advance for the names I chose for them. I am bad at coming up with names.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7- The News**

 **Younger Gary:-**

Eight year old Gary Oak was pacing about in his room angrily. He didn't understood why Professor Oak's new assistant had taken such an interest in him.

He hadn't liked it when that Harry Greenwood had looked at the picture he had drawn for Ash. No one other than Ash was supposed to look at it. And now he didn't wanted to show it to Ash either.

He and Ash always used to hang out together. So much that it had came as a nasty shock to Gary to see Ash with dozens of new friends on his birthday. It had became worse when Ash had called one of those kids his best friend. He wondered whether Ash would ditch him now that he had obtained lots of better friends.

With a jolt he realized that he had left his book outside. He needed to hide that sketch before anyone else saw it.

He was about to leave his room, when he saw the door of his room open up and Ash Ketchum stepped inside with a wide smile on his face.

"Hey Gary!" he greeted him happily.

"Ash, what are you doing here?" Gary asked feeling confused.

"I wanted to thank you for this amazing birthday present! This is such a beautiful sketch!" Ash said in a cheery voice.

Gary saw with a surprise that Ash was holding the sketch which he had drawn for his birthday. He couldn't understand how that drawing had reached Ash.

"Why didn't you gave this to me on my birthday, Gary? And why were you avoiding me for the past few days?" Ash asked him.

"You were the one avoiding me!" Gary said angrily, "You had called so many new people on your birthday. I thought you didn't wanted to be my friend anymore."

"That's not true, you are my best friend and you know that," Ash said and pulled him into a big hug. Gary didn't knew what to do for a moment before he awkwardly hugged Ash back.

"You remember that day when you were upset about not having any friends," Ash asked him as he pulled back, " Well, I thought that since we both don't have a lot of friends, I'll call other kids in the town to my birthday party. So that both of us can make new friends!"

"But you called one of them your best friend," Gary muttered still feeling a little angry.

"That was just a joke Gary, I thought you would understand," Ash explained to him.

Gary looked into his eyes and saw Ash staring right back at him. They always used to do this thing of staring into each other's eyes which used to help them to understand each other in a better way.

"Sorry Ashy," Gary finally muttered.

"It's okay Gary!" Ash replied with a wide smile.

"Aren't you mad at me?" Gary asked , feeling a little confused.

"No! My mom always says that we should forgive other people if they say sorry. And you are my best friend so I can never get mad at you," Ash replied.

Gary smiled upon hearing that. Ash was his best-friend and he would never let anything come between their friendship again. However, he had no idea how soon another huge obstacle was going to make its way between their friendship.

Later, as they were playing with little toy models of Pikachu and Squirtle, Gary asked, "Ash, how did you find that sketch? I had hidden it inside a book."

"Oh, Professor Oak's new assistant gave it to me when I was coming towards your house," Ash replied.

'What?!' Gary thought to himself. Harry Greenwood had touched his book without his permission and handed over that sketch to Ash! Gary felt that he needed to do something about this new assistant immediately.

"I'll be back in a moment Ashy," he muttered and left the room in a hurry.

He found the new assistant going through a bunch of notes in the living-room. Gary confronted him immediately,

"Why did you touch my book without my permission? I am going to complain about you to gramps!" he said angrily.

"Calm down buddy, I just wanted to help you," Harry said gently.

"How were you helping me?!" Gary asked him feeling angry and confused at the same time.

"I thought you looked sad because you were missing your friend. So I decided to give him the sketch. I just wanted to restore your friendship, that's all," Harry told him.

"What has my friendship got to do with you? And how did you recognized Ash anyways?" he asked him.

"I asked him whether he is Ash and he said yes. Plus, your sketch is good, I was able to recognize him from it instantly," Harry explained.

Gary felt better after hearing the compliment but he was still mad at Harry, so he asked insistently, "But why is my and Ash's friendship so important for you? Why did you had to interfere?"

Harry Greenwood sighed deeply and spoke, "When I was a kid, I had a best-friend too. But I had lots of silly fights with him which affected our friendship. I am still not sure whether he has really forgiven me for all those fights and rivalry or not," he paused for a moment and then continued, "I saw myself in you Gary. I didn't wanted you to lose your best-friend just because of some silly fight. So I had to interfere and help you. I only did it to repair yours and Ash's friendship."

"Oh," Gary said softly, "So you showed the sketch to Ash just because you wanted to mend our friendship?"

"That's right Gary," Harry told him, "You and Ash remind me a lot about me and my best friend. So I thought I should help."

"How was your best-friend?" Gary asked curiously.

"A lot like Ash actually," Harry replied, "Kind, optimistic and helpful towards everyone."

"That does sound like Ash," Gary agreed, and then commented, "Wow, we are really quite similar aren't we? I had noticed that you look like me during breakfast this morning and now it looks like we have similar best-friends."

He saw Harry get a little uncomfortable upon hearing that, but he said in reply, "Yeah, I had noticed that too. We are really quite similar. That's why I said that I saw myself in you."

Gary nodded slowly and then muttered, "Thanks, you helped to solve the misunderstanding between me and Ash."

"No problem Gary, I am glad I could help you," Harry replied with a smile.

Gary smiled and then turned around to go and play with Ash in his room. 'Maybe gramp's new assistant isn't that bad,' he thought to himself.

* * *

 **Older Gary:-**

Gary sighed with relief as he saw his younger-version go back to his room. This was no time to be modest, he had to admit he had been quite smart and curious as a kid. His past-self had almost caught him twice now.

Although he was glad of the fact that younger Gary didn't hated him anymore. He pushed the bunch of notes aside and went upstairs and paused just outside his past-self's room, or rather his old room.

He could hear the happy voices of younger Ash and Gary as they played together. They were probably imitating to be Pokemon. A faint smile tugged at Gary's lips as he heard the sounds which he used to enjoy a lot in his childhood.

He walked towards the lab to tell Professor Oak that he had finished going through the notes when he heard him talk to someone on the phone.

"I think it's great that the two of you are returning in a couple of days Spencer," Professor Oak spoke in a gleeful tone to someone on the other end.

Gary paused upon hearing the name Spencer. His grandfather was talking to his dad. It looked like his parents were returning back in a couple of days. Gary leaned forward to hear more.

"Yes, I'll tell May and Gary during dinner. They'll definitely be overjoyed to hear this," Professor Oak said warmly.

Gary couldn't hear the reply on the other side of the phone but he heard his grandfather say, "No don't worry Spencer, I don't overexert myself. In fact just yesterday I found a new assistant for myself and he seems to be quite capable."

There was a slight pause and then Professor Oak said, "In fact, I worry about you and Beth at times. I am sure that Castor makes the two of you overwork."

Gary couldn't help but notice that his grandfather sounded quite cold and angry while mentioning the name of this Castor person. It was quite in contrast to his grandfather's behavior just a few minutes earlier and Gary couldn't understand what could be the reason for such a sudden change. He guessed his grandfather really hated whoever this Castor person was.

After a few more exchanges Professor Oak finally ended the conversation and Gary scampered towards his own room, all the while feeling worried about what was to happen a few days later. He needed to stop it at all costs. He was also feeling a little anxious at the thought of seeing his parents alive and well after so many years, when he had trained his mind to forget about them. Returning to that dark past would mean opening the door to a bunch of miseries that deserved to be forgotten. Gary wasn't sure how he was going to handle all of this.

* * *

 **Ash:-**

Ash looked at his friends Misty, Brock and May who were all seated around in his and Ash's room. They needed to do some serious planning.

"So basically, we have to stay here until Gary finds a way to save his parents. And then all of us can return home together?" Misty asked the questions that were on everyone's mind.

"Yeah, but we have to also make sure that no one recognizes us. Or it could be a serious threat to whatever Gary is planning," Brock said in response.

"Why can't we help Gary in saving his parents?" Ash asked. He thought it wasn't fair on Gary's part to have to do all of this alone. Someone ought to help him and Ash would love to do that.

"Because he doesn't want our help," Misty spoke with a sigh, "I would love to help him too but it looks like he can manage on his own."

"Yes, we should probably just stay here until he does whatever he has planned to do," Brock suggested.

"But how are we going to pay Ash's mom until we stay here?" May asked, "We have only got very little money with us, and it is depleting fast."

"I don't mind staying for free," Ash muttered lazily. He felt that it was odd to pay his own mother to stay in his own house.

"Ash, it is rude to stay just like that without paying. Mrs. Ketchum is your mom but right now she doesn't recognize you. We would come across as spoilt kids if we asked to stay for free," Misty scolded him.

"I can always do a few Pokemon battles, that might earn us enough money," Ash suggested.

"Who are you going to battle with, in this small town? Your only opponent is busy with his own plans," Misty pointed out to him.

"I have a sort of idea, maybe it'll work," Brock said looking really thoughtful about something.

"What are you planning Brock?" May asked him.

But before Brock could answer, there was a knock on their door and Delia Ketchum's head poked inside, "Dinner is ready!" she announced.

"Thanks, we'll come in just a moment," Ash said.

But Brock stopped her and asked, "Mrs. Ketchum, can I ask you something?"

"Yes, Brett what is it?" she asked him. It took a moment for Ash to realize that she was calling him by his fake-name. He had still not wrapped his head around everyone's fake names.

"We need to stay for a few more days in Pallet town. But we don't have enough money to pay you. Would it be okay if I worked at your restaurant in exchange of being allowed to stay here?" Brock put forth his proposal.

"Oh, the money is not a problem Brett. My restaurant is working very well. You all can stay for free," Delia told them.

"But it feels wrong to stay just like that," May muttered.

"We don't want to be a trouble," Misty told Ash's mother.

"Please Mrs Ketchum, it really feels rude to stay for free and cause you trouble," Brock insisted.

"Oh very well, you can come to the restaurant tomorrow. And then we'll see which work suits you, although you have already proven to be an excellent chef," Mrs Ketchum remarked with a smile and left.

"Why does only Brock has to help though?" Ash asked once his mother had left, "I think all of us should help at the restaurant."

"Ash, I am the only one over here who can cook properly. You guys might create more trouble instead of helping," Brock pointed out.

"Yeah, that's true too," Ash replied in a small voice. He was starting to feel restless and agitated at the thought of having to spend a few days locked up in this peaceful house in an equally calm neighborhood. Ash Ketchum couldn't and didn't liked the idea of sitting still for a long time.

* * *

 **Gary:-**

Gary was just rushing out of his room for dinner when he almost ran into his younger version who was hurrying towards him.

"Take these!" his past-self said and handed over a bunch of notes to Gary. With a groan Gary realized that those were the notes he had been going through and had forgotten in the living room. He had been so caught up in making plans to save his parents after overhearing the phone-call, that he had forgotten all about his work.

"Thanks," he said to his younger self, feeling pleasantly surprised about the fact that he had handed him the notes instead of going and complaining to his grandfather.

"No problem, I had gone in the living-room to pick my book when I saw these notes. Don't do such mistakes often or else my gramps would fire you," he spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I'll remember that," older Gary replied and then asked, "You don't want him to fire me?"

"That depends," younger Gary answered mysteriously and went towards the dining room.

Gary followed him in the dining-room and told the already seated Professor Oak that he had finished going through the notes. He saw his younger self smirk at him from behind his grandfather. Gary resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It was highly amusing when your own past-version smirked at you.

Once they were settled at the table, Professor Oak said to May and younger-Gary, "I received a call from your father. He said that he and your mother are returning to Pallet in a couple of days."

Gary saw his younger-counterpart positively beam upon hearing that news. "That's great gramps!" he exclaimed, "I'll be able to show them how much I have learned about Pokemon."

"Finally," May Oak muttered, "I had thought they had forgotten us or something."

"May you know that's not true," Professor Oak said gently, "Both of them are just busy."

"Busy for one whole year? They didn't had time to talk to us for more than a year now," she said angrily.

"But they send us cards on Christmas and New Year though," younger-Gary mumbled looking confused.

Gary bit his lip and prevented himself from saying anything in the discussion that was going on. Sometimes, he used to forget that they don't know that he is a part of their family, and he is simply being an assistant over here.

He knew that May was mad at their parents but he also knew that she was going to feel immense grief in the upcoming weeks if he didn't acted sooner.

"Professor, I think I'll go to my room now," Gary spoke in a polite tone.

"Huh, why Harry?" Professor Oak asked.

"I have noticed that you eat very less. Is this normal for you or are you just feeling awkward around us?" May asked kindly and after many years Gary saw the old warmth return in her eyes while looking at him.

"You should eat more," younger Gary commented with a smile and pushed a bowl of rice-balls in his direction.

Gary felt touched by their kind gestures, which only furthered his resolve to act faster.

"Sorry Professor, but I am not feeling hungry today. And I have some work to do," he muttered hoping his excuse hadn't sounded too lame.

"Ah, alright Gary. But I'll be sure to check that you are eating properly from tomorrow onwards," the Professor replied in a warm tone which didn't suspected anything.

"Definitely Professor," he answered and quickly left the room.

The moment he entered his room he switched on his laptop and got to work. It took him about five minutes of research to realize that something was seriously off.

Almost the entire news section was flashing an important alert message about an oncoming earthquake in the Johto region. Gary remembered reading somewhere that the scientists in Johto region used ground-type Pokemon to detect any sign of an upcoming earthquake. It was a highly successful technique which had always worked and now other regions were following their footsteps too.

Gary saw that the area near Goldenrod city, where the earthquake was going to happen had been mostly evacuated and all sorts of necessary precautions were being taken. He just couldn't understand how his parents could have missed such an important news and decided to dig fossils in that area when such a high-alert was issued.

He wondered for a moment whether his parents had voluntarily gone to dig fossils despite having full knowledge about the oncoming earthquake. Why had his parents undertaken such a suicidal mission? What was so important about those fossils that it couldn't wait until the earthquake was over? He could understand wanting to remove those fossils before they got damaged in the earthquake but at the cost of their own life? And hadn't anyone tried to stop them or asked them to evacuate that place? How did they got permission to dig fossils in such a high-alert zone in the first place?

The list of Gary's questions went on increasing and he felt like he needed to do something before his mind started spinning with the load of the questions. He quickly took printouts of all the articles providing information about the earthquake and decided to show it to his parents when they returned to Pallet.

He was also planning on having a talk with Professor Oak. Gary knew that he was the one person who would be able to put a stop to his son and daughter-in-law's foolishness.

Gary didn't care if he had to use the force of all of his Pokemon to stop his parents on going for the suicide mission, he would do anything to stop them. For the first time in years he felt a different emotion towards his parents's death other than sadness at losing them, he felt angry towards them for choosing to go on this mission. And now he wanted to change it.

* * *

 **Author Note:- Hope you all enjoyed it! :)**

 **Tell me if you have any suggestions or questions about the fanfic.**


	8. Selfish Or Not

**Disclaimer:- I don't own Pokemon**

 **Note:- Thanks for all the favs, follows and reviews! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 8- Selfish Or Not**

 **Gary:-**

It was early in the morning and Gary was already out of his room and walking up to Professor Oak's lab. He knew his grandfather was an early-riser and felt that it would be a good idea to talk to him on the important topic which had been haunting Gary the whole night.

"Ah, Good Morning Harry! Do you like to wake up early as well?" the Professor asked him kindly.

"Good morning Professor. I sometimes wake up early," he muttered wondering what would be the best way to start talking about his parents.

"It's a good habit," the Professor agreed, "I am letting out the Pokemon from their Pokeballs now, will you come and help?"

"Yes, of course Professor," Gary replied.

They released the Pokemon at the lab in the large open space designed specifically for them to play and roam about all day. Gary saw the various different Pokemon such as Nidoran, Rapidash, Electrode and Oddish start their day as they happily roamed in the big field of grass behind the lab.

"Now we will observe them," Professor Oak said and pulled out a pen and a clipboard.

Gary thought it would be best if he addressed the topic before Professor Oak got busy with his work.

"Professor, is your son a Pokemon researcher too?" Gary asked innocently.

"Yes, he and his wife are also Pokemon researchers. They are going to come to Pallet tomorrow," he added in an affectionate tone.

"Where do they do their research work?" Gary asked in a light tone.

"Oh, in Johto region. I think they'll return there after visiting Pallet," Professor Oak replied in a casual tone.

Gary was startled to hear this. Didn't Professor Oak knew about the earthquake then?

"Professor, haven't you heard about the oncoming earthquake in Johto?" Gary asked, feeling startled.

"I have heard about it Harry. It seems like a really unfortunate incident. I hope they are able to save as many people as possible," his grandfather said in a grave tone.

"I hope so too. But why is your son and his wife returning to Johto if they know about the earthquake? It could be dangerous!" Gary exclaimed.

"Huh, I didn't understood your question Gary? My son and his wife are doing excavation work near Ecruteak city. The earthquake is going to happen near Goldenrod city. They would be safe," Professor Oak assured him.

Gary couldn't believe this. He clearly remembered hearing the news of his parents' deaths and the fact that they had died while doing excavation near Goldenrod city because an earthquake had taken place over there.

He didn't knew what to make of Professor Oak's statement. Had there been some misunderstanding or maybe his grandfather had simply forgotten the name of the place where his parents were working? Either way, Gary felt it would be difficult to convince him.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as Professor Oak said," And Harry, have I talked to you about the summer-camp yet?"

"Summer-camp?" Gary asked blankly.

"Yes, it was May's idea originally. We are planning to organize a small summer-camp for little kids in Pallet town. I don't want to over-work you immediately, but I'd be glad if you could help with it," Professor Oak said with a smile.

Of course, Gary remembered the summer-camp now. He and Ash had decided to attend it but after his little fight with Ash he had decided against going to the summer-camp. It hadn't mattered much back then because he had seen the Pokemon at his grandpa's lab tons of times before.

"Of course, I'll help with it," he replied almost mechanically. He didn't really cared about this summer-camp and just wanted his grandfather to get back on the topic of his parents.

"That would be great Harry! I am really glad that you are ready to help with it," the Professor beamed appreciatively, but then his smile faltered a little as he added, "We have a few problems with the summer-camp though."

"What problems?" Gary asked even though he couldn't feel any more disinterested at the moment.

"Actually, we had hired a talented Pokemon trainer and Pokemon coordinator to come and teach a few things to the little kids at the camp who might be interested in it," Professor Oak replied, "But the two of them have other commitments so they can't come. I am in search of new people for that job."

Gary nodded not knowing what else to say. He was mentally working on how to start the topic about his parents again.

Just then, the video-phone in the lab started beeping loudly. Professor Oak went to pick it up. Gary just wished for the call to end soon so that they could get back on topic, when he heard his mother's voice,

"It's nice to see that you are doing well, Professor Oak. Me and Spencer would be returning tomorrow," she said.

Gary turned towards the screen and his eyes remain fixed on the auburn-haired researcher who had dark eyes and high cheekbones. She looked like an older version of May Oak.

Gary felt a torrent of emotions run through him as he stared at his mother's face. It had been years since he had heard her voice, let alone seen her. He had given up all hope of seeing her ever again.

"I wish a safe journey for both of you. May and Gary are desperately waiting to see the two of you again," Professor Oak replied.

"Tell them we would be back soon," his mother said with a smile. But then Gary saw a shadow of guilt pass over her face as she said, "Professor Oak, actually I had wanted to ask you something."

"What is it Beth?" the Professor asked kindly.

"Our boss, Professor Castor wants to come along with us to Pallet town. We know you don't like him so we tried to refuse but he isn't taking no for an answer," his mother replied.

"Beth, you know I hate Castor. He is the last person I want to meet," Professor Oak replied. Gary was really surprised at the coldness in Professor Oak's voice. He couldn't help wondering who was this Castor person and what had he done to make Professor Oak hate him so much.

"I know Professor Oak, me and Spencer tried to change his mind but he isn't listening. Although we still don't get why the two of you hate each other," she muttered looking confused.

"You won't understand," Professor Oak spoke with a sigh, "I should have guessed something was wrong the moment I didn't saw Spencer. He is avoiding me, right?"

"He is scared that you will scold him for not being able to stop Professor Castor," his mother replied and rolled her eyes.

"It's not his or your fault," Professor Oak answered. Then as if he was forcing himself to calm down, he said, "Fine, I'll meet Castor. But tell him in advance that the meeting won't go well for him."

"Sure, Professor Oak," his mother replied with a smile and then ended the call.

Professor Oak put down the receiver and Gary could tell from his expression that he was quite annoyed and upset at the thought of meeting this Castor person.

"I'll be back in a moment Harry," Professor Oak muttered and left the room. Gary was left staring behind him and wondering what on earth might have happened to make him so angry.

Later that day, when Gary got a break from his work he decided to take a small walk around Pallet town to clear his head. He was feeling quite nervous about his parents' visit the next day and wanted to be sure that he approached the topic in the best way possible.

He was walking along a narrow lonely path when he saw Ash, Misty and May sitting under the shade of a tree. Gary quickly turned around to check that no one from the lab was anywhere near him and then went to talk to Ash and his friends.

"Hey, how are you guys?" he greeted them with a smile.

"Hey Gary, what's up? Did you completed your mission?" Ash asked enthusiastically.

"Not yet, and don't call me Gary," Gary whispered, "My name is Harry Greenwood."

"Right, forgot that. Sorry," Ash muttered looking apologetic.

"Hey Harry, I am Mia. And these are my friends Tom and Maria," Misty said with a cheeky grin.

"Nice to meet all of you," Gary replied with a smirk.

"So, how is your mission going?" Ash asked in a low whisper.

"Very badly," Gary admitted.

"Is there anything we can do to help you?" May asked looking concerned.

"I don't see how you guys can help me with this. I have got to do this myself," Gary said in a low voice.

Ash stood up and put a comforting hand on Gary's shoulder, Gary looked at him and felt a sudden warmth spread through him. He never understood why Ash had such an effect on him.

"Tell us what happened. Maybe we can do something to help you," Ash said to him.

So Gary sat down next to Ash and told everything from the beginning to him, Misty and May. He told them about the earthquake, the sudden change in the place where his parents were researching and the fact that they were coming the next day and he was feeling extremely nervous about it.

"But isn't it a good thing that your parents are doing research in Ecruteak city? That way they won't get hurt in the earthquake that is going to happen near Goldenrod city," May asked looking confused.

"Yeah, but I am not sure whether they are really in Ecruteak or whether my grandfather forgot the name of the place," Gary replied.

"You can talk to your parents tomorrow. Ask them where they are doing their research and if it is in Goldenrod then tell them about the seriousness of the earthquake predictions," Misty suggested.

"I'll try that, but I am not sure whether I'll be able to do it," Gary muttered.

"Don't worry, I know you can do this," Ash said bracingly, "

"Thanks Ash," Gary replied not caring about using his real name. He couldn't understand how Ash could be so nice and supportive towards him considering how he had treated him in the past.

"No problem! I know you will manage to convince your parents and if you want we can help you in convincing them too!" Ash answered looking optimistic.

Gary looked at Ash and felt a strange feeling inside him. He was aware of Misty and May staring at him and Ash, so to partly change the subject he asked, "Where is your other friend Tom?"

"Oh Broc- I mean Brett, he is working at Pallet House. My mo- I mean Mrs. Ketchum is really pleased with his cooking skills," Ash replied and then continued, "At least he has got some work to do. I feel so tired and bored sitting here and doing nothing."

Gary suddenly remembered a part of his conversation with his grandfather. He said to Ash, "My grandfather is organizing a summer-camp in Pallet town. He had hired a trainer and a coordinator to teach stuff to the little kids but apparently they can't come."

"A trainer and a coordinator?" May suddenly asked looking interested.

"Yeah, so if Ash wants to, he can apply for that job. All you have to do is teach some basic training stuff to little kids," Gary told Ash.

"Well I have taught a few things to people but I have never done something like this before," Ash said, although he seemed to be considering it seriously.

"If they require a coordinator then I can join too! I'll be able to teach the little kids a lot about contests and coordinating!" May said looking excited.

"I think you and May should go for it Ash," Misty said to him, "You'll get to stay near Gary and help him and you won't get bored either."

"That does sound like a good plan. When should we talk to Professor Oak?" Ash asked the others.

"I think we'll have to do some preparation before going and applying for the job," May said looking lost in thoughts, "But wait, if we go there then Misty would be left all alone. We don't want to leave you."

Misty smiled and said, "That's fine May, I'll find something to do as well. And if there is nothing else to do, I can always just train with my Pokemon."

"That sounds cool!" Ash agreed.

Gary secretly felt glad to know that Ash and his friend May would be joining him at the summer-camp. Spending time with his family in the past all alone was becoming overwhelming for him.

"Are you going to try talking to Professor Oak again?" Misty asked him.

"I don't know. He heard about a certain Professor Castor coming to Pallet town and he became so angry after that that I didn't knew how to start talking about that topic again," Gary replied.

"Professor Castor?!" Ash exclaimed, "That's the same person who had tried to drown the Eevees and Cleffa!"

"Someone had tried to drown Eevee and Cleffa?" Gary asked feeling angry as he stared at the little Eevee and Cleffa playing with Ash's Pikachu.

"Yes, and that person's name was also Professor Castor. I think it's the same person, that's why Professor Oak must be mad at him," Ash told him.

"Maybe," Gary replied carefully, not wanting to jump to conclusions.

"If he is coming to Pallet town we need to inform someone. He could be hurting more Pokemon," Ash said.

"We don't have any proof against him, remember?" Misty asked him.

"But maybe we can spy on him, that way we will get some proof," May suggested.

"Not you too May," Misty said, sounding exasperated.

"But if he is really hurting more Pokemon then he needs to be stopped," May said sounding stubborn.

"Yeah, something needs to be done about it," Ash spoke looking fiercely determined.

"Look Ash, I don't want you to do anything that interferes with my plan of stopping my parents' deaths. When they come to Pallet that is going to be my number one priority and I don't want anyone meddling with it," Gary said feeling worried. He knew Ash could get really fired up about anything and if he decided to do something about this Castor person it might ruin Gary's plan of saving his parents.

He was surprised to see Ash looking at him with an astonished look on his face.

"Gary," he said sounding dead serious, "I had seen someone called Professor Castor trying to drown three Pokemon with my own eyes. If he is the same person he could be hurting a lot more Pokemon. Saving your parents is necessary but this is also equally important."

"So are you going to meddle with my plan?" Gary asked angrily.

"No, but we will find a way of spying and gathering proof in case this is the same person," Ash told him.

"That does sound like messing with my plan. Don't you understand that I won't be able to save my parents even if a single thing goes wrong? And you are not supposed to interfere with the past in the first place!" Gary almost shouted.

"As if you are not interfering with the past. How come that is okay?" Ash asked sounding annoyed.

"Calm down you two," Misty muttered, placing a hand on Ash's shoulder.

"It's okay because I am trying to save my parents and restore our friendship," Gary shot back ignoring Misty, "You on the other hand are just-"

"I am just trying to save the lives of more Pokemon which obviously doesn't seem important to you. I don't understand how you can be so selfish Gary?" Ash asked him in an angry tone.

Gary felt as though Ash had punched him with his question. He wasn't being selfish. He was just prioritizing saving his parents first and didn't wanted anything to come in the way.

"Leave it. You won't understand, you have never understood me," he said in a small voice and left before Ash could say anything in reply.

"Gary wait!" he heard from behind, but it was Misty shouting. Not Ash. And that alone was enough for Gary to not turn behind. He hurried towards Professor Oak's lab without glancing behind even once.

* * *

 **Author Note:- Sorry, I couldn't come up with a good name for this chapter. But I hope you all enjoyed it. If you have any suggestions or constructive criticism, feel free to tell. :)**


	9. Arrival of Trouble

**Disclaimer:- I don't own Pokemon**

* * *

 **Chapter 9- Arrival of Trouble**

 **Gary:-**

Gary Oak was studying a pair of Nidoran when he heard the doorbell ring. Today was the day when his parents were going to arrive. He saw May Oak and his younger-self rush past him to open the door.

Gary stood rooted to the spot for a few minutes, feeling extremely nervous. Then finally making up his mind he went outside, all the while trying to work up some confidence inside him.

He saw Professor Oak, May and his younger-self talking to someone at the door. They were blocking his view but when they finally stepped away, he saw his parents for the first time in many years.

Gary hadn't really cried when he had heard the news of his parents' death. The shock and grief had been beyond tears and he had just gone completely numb for days. He remembered not eating anything properly and not talking to people for weeks after hearing about the incident.

So now when he saw his parents smiling and happily chatting with his younger-self and the rest of his family he felt both happy and sad at the same time.

"And this must be your new assistant," his dad remarked upon noticing Gary, "Are you enjoying your work over here?"

"Wha-" Gary was momentarily startled upon being addressed by his dad, but he quickly regained his composure and replied, "Yes, of course. I am enjoying working over here."

"Glad to hear that! I am Spencer Oak by the way. You must have heard about me, everyone knows me as the soon-to-be greatest Pokemon researcher," he replied with a confident smirk.

Gary almost grinned upon hearing that. He had always known that he had inherited his attitude from his father but it was nice to see more proof in support of that theory.

"And what about me and your father?" his mom asked his dad.

"You two are runner-ups but no one can beat me in Pokemon researching," his dad replied, his smirk growing wider. Gary's mother simply rolled her eyes upon hearing that. Gary knew that she and Professor Oak were by now used to his dad's egoistical behavior.

"Honestly dad , you need to tone down that ego of yours," May spoke with a chuckle and then suggested, "The two of you should go and rest for some time. You have had a long journey."

"That's right, we should take some rest," his mother agreed.

"Castor didn't came with you then?" Professor Oak asked looking hopeful.

"Actually, he and his assistants had some urgent work to do. But they'll be coming soon," his mom told Professor Oak.

"Oh, I was hoping that perhaps he had changed his plans," Professor Oak spoke sounding dejected.

"You'll have to face him father. Not all of us can hide from our rivals forever," Gary's dad said to Professor Oak, who just shook his head upon hearing that.

Gary wondered whatever it meant. Was this Professor Castor a rival of Professor Oak's? And what did his dad meant by saying that not everyone can hide from their rivals forever.

He saw his parents going towards their room and was thinking of following them to find out their exact research location in Johto, but then he noticed May and his younger-self following his parents to their room. It was going to be a tough task to talk to them when no one was watching, because as far as Gary remembered, he and his sister never left their parents alone whenever they came home on little breaks.

Gary saw Professor Oak smile in a contented manner, clearly looking happy about seeing the whole family together again. Gary was glad about that Professor Castor not arriving yet to disrupt his grandfather's mood. Although, he wondered where that Castor person could be.

Just then the doorbell rang again. Gary saw his grandfather tense up and frown. With a sharp glare towards the door he went to open it.

However, when the door was opened Gary saw Ash's friend May standing outside the door. She smiled at Professor Oak and said, "Nice to meet you, Professor Oak. I am Maria Sapphirestone, a Pokemon Coordinator from the Hoenn region. I heard you were looking for a coordinator for your summer camp?"

"Wha-? Oh yes, I was looking for a coordinator. Please come inside," Professor Oak replied looking slightly confused. Gary knew he had been expecting Castor.

Gary glared at May as she passed him inside the living room but she merely smiled back at him. He was sure that this was one of Ash's plans. He didn't knew why Ash and his friends wanted to interrupt when he was going to do something really important.

He angrily returned back to his room not wanting to know whether May got the job or not.

But a few minutes later he heard a loud commotion from the living room. Feeling alarmed he ran outside only to find his father shouting something along the lines of, "A young brat and his Pikachu are attacking Professor Castor! We need to stop them immediately! I saw them just now from my window!"

"Calm down Spencer," his mom said as she came running behind him.

"What happened?" Gary asked weakly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Ash's friend May was looking pale and terrified.

"A boy was attacking my boss. We need to stop him immediately!," Spencer Oak told him and rushed out of the door. His mother followed him with a Pokeball ready in her hand.

"Let's go and see what the matter is," Professor Oak muttered and went outside. Gary followed him feeling both worried about and angry towards Ash Ketchum.

* * *

 **Ash:-**

Earlier that day, Ash and May had been making their way up to Professor Oak's house. Ash obviously was covered in a thick layer of make-up.

"Do you think we are doing the right thing Ash?" May asked him looking doubtful.

"Yes, besides Gary himself had said that we should try out for the trainer and coordinator posts at the summer-camp," Ash replied.

"Not about that one. I meant about spying on this Castor person," May told him.

"Of course that's right, we can't let him hurt any more Pokemon!" Ash answered stubbornly.

"It won't affect Gary's plans though, right?" May asked him.

"No it won't. I don't understand why he felt that we were going to meddle with his plans," Ash wondered aloud.

Just then Ash and May saw a group of five people hurry up towards Professor Oak's house. May peered a little for better look and asked him, "Are his parents in that group?"

Ash had seen Gary's parents only once and that too from a distance, so he replied, "I can't be sure May. I haven't really-" but he stopped in mid-sentence as his eyes caught three faces in the group which he recognized clearly from the night when the shipwreck had happened.

"That's him May. The Castor guy and his assistants," Ash whispered to her. He saw Cleffa trembling in her arms at the sight of them.

"Don't worry Cleffa, they can't hurt you over here," May said and tried to calm down her Pokemon. Suddenly she grabbed Ash's sleeve and said, "Look Ash, they are separating! Three of them are staying behind and only the other two are going towards the house."

"Castor and his assistants have stayed back for some reason. The ones going inside must be Gary's parents. Dunno what's going on," Ash muttered.

"Should we follow them?" May asked him.

Ash looked at her Cleffa. There were chances that Cleffa might get really scared in the presence of Castor and somehow expose them.

"I think you and Cleffa should go and apply for the job May. I'll keep a watch on what Castor and his assistants are doing," Ash told her.

"Okay, but take care and don't do anything silly," May advised him. They exchanged a smile and then May went towards Professor Oak's house.

Ash followed Castor and his group behind Professor Oak's lab. He saw one of the assistants take out a small Pokeball from his pocket while the other assistant scolded him,

"What do you mean he is still not obeying our instructions properly, Keaton?! I thought you were supposed to train him?"

"I was training him," the guy named Keaton replied, "But something went wrong. It was the same thing that had happened with the Cleffa and the Eevees. Our potion is just not working on him!"

"I have already lost three Pokemon, I can't lose another one," Castor spoke in a sinister sounding voice, "I might have to use force on this one," he muttered and took out a Pokeball.

"Go Dusknoir," he spoke in a calm tone.

Ash then saw Keaton release a small Honedge from his Pokeball. The Honedge look scared and traumatized, just the way Cleffa and the Eevees had been looking.

"If the Honedge is not obeying us in spite of administering the potion to him then I think it's time to use some force," Castor muttered darkly and said, "Dusknoir use shadowpunch," he instructed his Pokemon.

The Honedge was too weak and tired to fight back or even dodge. He got badly hurt by Dusknoir's attack.

"Alright Dusknoir, now use-"

But before Castor could issue out his order Ash stepped forward and yelled, "No, you can't hurt him! Pikachu go!"

"Who are you? And why exactly are you interrupting our work?" Keaton asked him angrily.

"I have seen enough of you and your Professor trying to hurt innocent Pokemon. I won't stand any more of it!" Ash told them angrily.

"Boy, do you seriously think you can stop Professor Castor," his other assistant asked him.

"Watch me," Ash replied, and then commanded, "Pikachu, use thunderbolt!"

Pikachu sent a huge jolt of electricity in the direction of the Dusknoir but it didn't affected the Pokemon.

"Dusknoir, use Shadow Ball," Castor commanded his Pokemon.

"Dodge it, Pikachu!" Ash yelled at him. Pikachu barely managed to dodge the shadow ball.

"Now, use electro ball!" Ash instructed Pikachu.

"Dogde it and use Shadow ball!" Castor ordered his Dusknoir. This time Dusknoir's attack slightly hurt Pikachu but not enough to deal major damage.

"Are you alright, Pikachu?" Ash asked his trusted and loyal companion.

" _Pika!"_ Pikachu replied confidently.

"Alright then, use Iron tail!" Ash told him.

Pikachu got ready to use the iron-tail move. His tail glowed and he was in mid-jump when they all heard a noise from above them.

"What's going on?" a man with spiky auburn hair that greatly resembled Gary's had stuck his head out of a window and was shouting at them.

"Ah, nice to see you Spencer. This young man over here was giving me some difficulties," Castor told him in a smooth tone.

"No I wasn't! You were the one who were attacking Honedge!" Ash replied back angrily.

"Be careful young man. You are accusing our Professor when he is completely innocent," Professor Castor's other assistant glared at Ash with her sharp grey eyes.

"Wait a minute, was this young man attacking you Professor Castor?" the man named Spencer asked Castor in a worried tone.

"Yes he was attacking me and falsely accusing me of attacking my own Pokemon," Castor spoke in a feigned innocent tone.

"Just wait a minute Professor, me and Beth are coming down immediately," with that the man disappeared from the window.

"You have no idea how much trouble you are about to face boy," Castor growled at him.

"Oh shut up, I know everything! How you had tried to drown the Cleffa and the Eevees. And I saw what you were doing to the Honedge too," Ash replied feeling stubborn and indignant. He was not going to be intimidated by a guy like Professor Castor. He had seen much worse.

"Wait, how does he know about the Eevees and the Cleffa? I thought no one was watching us at that time," his other assistant spoke.

"It doesn't matter Kara. He doesn't have any proof. I would love to see how he convinces everyone else. No one will ever believe him," Castor spoke, eyeing Ash with a look of pure loathing.

"You can't be so sure that I don't have any proof-" Ash began but stopped when he saw the man named Spencer hurrying towards them. He was followed by a woman who had dark green eyes that reminded him of Gary. He realized with a jolt that they were Gary's parents.

He then saw a slightly younger looking Professor Oak follow them. Behind him was a nervous looking May Maple who glanced at Ash, her eyes filled with worry. The last one to come outside was Gary himself, who glared at Ash the moment their eyes met. Ash felt a deep hollowness within him, something inside him broke the moment Gary looked away from him.

* * *

 **Gary:-**

Gary couldn't believe this. He had no idea why Ash had to interrupt and ruin everything. What if his parents decided to immediately leave for Johto now? He wouldn't be able to stop them and it would be Ash's fault if anything happened to them.

He heard Professor Oak ask in a cold tone, "What's going on Jason? I didn't knew you would start problems the moment you arrived over here." Gary didn't knew that his grandfather was on first-name terms with Professor Castor.

"It's not Professor Castor's fault father. This boy had been attacking him with his Pikachu," Gary's dad immediately told Professor Oak.

"That's not true! I saw Professor Castor attacking Honedge so I stepped in to save him," Ash explained.

Gary turned to look at Honedge and noticed that it was indeed looking injured and scared. There was also a noticeable terror in its eyes similar to the terror which he had seen in Cleffa's eyes.

Apparently Professor Oak noticed Honedge's condition too. For he asked Castor, "This Honedge is looking really injured Jason. What were you doing to him?"

"He is my Pokemon, I was only giving him some extra training. This boy misunderstood my intentions," Castor spoke.

"Sometimes Professor Castor has to give extra training to some of his Pokemon. But they are completely healed later on," Gary's mother spoke.

"Yes, he never hurts the Pokemon to the point that it would get serious," Gary's father told them.

One look at the Honedge told Gary that this was clearly not true. He had no idea why his parents trusted Professor Castor so much.

But right now Gary just wanted to get over with the situation. He didn't wanted there to be any arguments or anything else that might force his parents to leave.

So he quietly walked up to May and whispered to her, "I think we need to sort out this situation. Can you tell them that Ash is your friend and he just made a misunderstanding?"

"That's a good idea," May replied.

She walked forwards and said, "Sorry everyone, actually this is my friend Tom Redheart from Hoenn region. He is a Pokemon trainer and he is very touchy about anyone training their Pokemon too harshly. It was just a big misunderstanding on his part and I apologize on his behalf."

Castor glared at the whimpering Cleffa in her arms and said, "Your friend, I see."

"Oh that's fine Maria. Such misunderstandings do happen," Professor Oak replied good-naturedly, "I am sure your friend Tom only had Honedge's best interests at heart."

"Yes that's true," Ash muttered looking confused by the sudden turn of events.

"I am going to be a little busy now, I'll give you the details of the summer-camp later on," Professor Oak told her.

"That's fine Professor Oak. And I am sorry again for Tom's misunderstanding," May replied. She then grabbed Ash's hand and almost dragged him away from the scene.

"Well, that got sorted out quickly," Gary's dad muttered.

"He was just some random Pokemon trainer. I guess we should drop the matter now," Professor Castor suggested. But Gary noticed how he had fixed Ash and May's retreating backs with a shrewd glare.

"We will drop the matter after the Honedge is healed," Professor Oak said and scooped up the little Pokemon in his arms.

"I was going to heal him anyways Samuel. You are unnecessarily making a big deal of nothing," Castor spoke.

"Well, then you won't have any problem with me healing him, right?" Professor Oak asked him, and before he could reply Oak turned his back and walked towards the lab with the Honedge in his arms.

"Don't worry Professor Castor, father will heal the Honedge properly," Gary's dad told him.

"Yeah, that's a good thing," Professor Castor spoke in a tone which made Gary suspect he didn't think it was a good thing at all.

Later that day, Gary returned to his room and thought about the day's happenings for a while. He could tell that this Professor Castor was a fishy person and needed to be exposed soon. He also knew that he needed to talk to his parents before that, so that once they were safely out of the way he would be able to help Ash and others in finding out more about Castor and whatever he was doing to the Pokemon.

Gary tossed a Pokeball and smiled a little as Umbreon came outside.

"I am going to do something extremely important Umbreon. Wish me luck," he said as he gathered all the data he had obtained about the oncoming earthquake.

" _Umbreon!"_ the Pokemon said in an encouraging tone.

Gary gently patted her. His face was set in a firm line. He knew what he had to do and he was ready to do it.

* * *

 **Author Note:- This was one really difficult chapter to write. *sighs tiredly* Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it. And if you have any suggestions then feel free to tell them. :)**


	10. Celebi's Revelation

**Disclaimer:- I don't own Pokemon**

* * *

 **Chapter ten:- Celebi's Revelation**

 **Gary:-**

Gary found his parents sitting alone in the living-room in the evening. Deciding that this would be the best time to confront them, he quietly went up to them and said,

"Professor Oak told me that you are doing some excellent research in Johto."

"Oh, dad told you about that? Yes, we are doing research in Ecruteak city of Johto region," Gary's dad told him.

Gary felt stumped. Here again they were talking about doing research in Ecruteak and not in Goldenrod city. So he finally asked, "Have you heard about the oncoming earthquake in Goldenrod city?"

"Yes, we have heard about it. It sounds dangerous, no one should stay there on that day," his mother commented.

Gary couldn't understand what to say next. His parents knew it was a dangerous situation and were doing research in a different city. He didn't understood how the incident which was to happen in the future could have happened at all? Just then May and his younger-self came to talk to their parents and Gary took this as a cue to leave his family alone.

He was walking past Professor Oak's lab when he heard raised voices coming from the lab.

"I am not going to help you with that potion Jason! It is really dangerous!" Professor Oak shouted.

"I know you have the correct formula of that potion Samuel. And I want it immediately," Professor Castor growled.

"You will never get it. I am not a fool to hand over the formula of such a dangerous potion to you," Professor Oak replied firmly.

"I travelled so far only for that potion formula. If you don't hand it over to me, you will regret it," Professor Castor sounded quite angry as he threatened Professor Oak.

Gary heard the sound of approaching footsteps near the door and hurried towards his room. Once inside, he sat down on his bed feeling utterly confused. He couldn't understand why his parents were working with Castor if he was making some dangerous potion.

Just then, he saw a bright light fill the room and Celebi appeared in front of him.

"I need more time Celebi. My work over here isn't complete yet," he told the Pokemon.

 _'I know that baby Oak. I have only came to tell you something important_ ,' Celebi spoke to him through the psychic link.

"What is it?" Gary asked him.

 _'Your parents never died in any earthquake. They were killed by Professor Castor when they found out about his evil schemes and tried to stop him_ ,' Celebi told him in a grave voice.

"What?!" Gary exclaimed feeling horrified. He couldn't imagine anyone trying to kill his parents. But then again they were talking about a person who had tried to drown three Pokemon.

"But gramps had told me that they had died in the earthquake," Gary said to Celebi.

 _'I don't know how much Samuel knows. But maybe he lied to you because you were too young to tell you the truth_ ,' Celebi said to him.

"When is this going to happen?" Gary asked weakly.

 _'Your parents will find out about Castor's true plans when they return to Ecruteak with him. After that they will try to stop him and he will make the horrible decision of killing them,'_ Celebi told Gary.

"Can't you help me in stopping this?" Gary asked him.

 _'I am sorry baby Oak. Although I am a time-travelling Pokemon, I am not supposed to interfere with time and change anything. But I decided to alert you so that you can do something about it_ ,' Celebi explained.

"I'll have to do something," Gary muttered, and felt some of his older confidence and determination return, "Thanks for alerting me, Celebi," he thanked the legendary Pokemon who nodded and turned to leave.

Celebi disappeared just as quietly as he had came in the room, and Gary let out a deep sigh. He realized that once his parents leave for Johto he won't be able to do anything to save them. He needed to delay their trip and stop Castor at the same time. He thought for a moment and soon came up with a plan.

The next day Gary went in the open space behind the house where he knew his dad came for a walk everyday in the morning. He quietly took out a Pokeball and said, "Blastoise go!"

The huge water-type came out of his Pokeball and Gary said to him, "I want you to use water-gun and make the ground slippery."

Blastoise eyed him with confusion for a moment but then followed his instructions. Once the ground had became slippery enough, Gary asked Blastoise to return. Then he called Umbreon and Arcanine out of their Pokeballs and whispered something to them.

A few minutes later, he saw his father come outside for a walk. He had just reached the slippery surface, when Arcanine and Umbreon tackled him 'accidentally'. Gary heard a loud groan and immediately went to help him.

"Oh, I am so sorry Mr. Oak. My Pokemon were just playing and chasing each other. They didn't meant to hurt you," he said to his father while trying to help him stand up.

"It's okay Harry. But it's paining a lot. I hope I haven't broken my leg," his dad said.

Gary helped him to walk as they returned to the house. Once inside they explained Professor Oak and his mother about what had happened. Gary started apologizing again.

"It's okay, it wasn't really your fault," his mother said, "Such accidents can happen."

Professor Oak called the doctor. And to Gary's extreme delight the doctor told them that his father needed to rest for at least three weeks before returning to Johto.

'Sorry dad,' he thought to himself. But he had to do this to keep his parents alive.

"So, it looks like you won't be able to return to Johto with me," Professor Castor asked his father as he came out in the living room carrying a suitcase with him.

"No, sorry Professor. But my leg is badly hurt," his father told Castor.

"I can't come either. I want to stay back to help him," his mother spoke.

"That's fine, me and my assistants will leave now. You two can join later on," Castor said to them. Gary saw his assistants arrive in the room with their suitcases and bags as well.

"Why are you leaving in such a hurry? We arrived only yesterday!" Gary's dad asked them.

"My work over here is done. There is no point in staying any longer," Castor muttered with a glare in Professor Oak's direction.

Gary saw the three of them leave. His parents looked shocked at their sudden departure while Professor Oak looked almost pleasantly surprised.

"Good riddance!" Gary heard him mutter in a low voice.

* * *

 **Ash:-**

Ash Ketchum was feeling really bored. He had spend the whole day trying to teach stuff about Pokemon to his younger self but that hadn't really eased any of his boredom. He hated staying at home for longer periods of time. His insides were already craving for an adventure.

And then there was the topic of that Castor. Ash wanted to go and find more proof against him but Misty, May and Brock weren't letting him leave the house at all.

"For the last time guys, I won't do anything stupid. I just want to spy on that Castor guy for some time," Ash told the three of them.

"You have already done enough damage yesterday," May said to him, "We shouldn't interfere any more with Gary's plans."

"But we need to stop Castor!" Ash exclaimed, "He could be hurting more Pokemon for all we know!"

"Ash, we know he could be hurting more Pokemon. But we don't want to hurt Gary's plan," Misty told him.

"We shouldn't interfere with the past," Brock agreed.

Ash wanted to argue back but just then he noticed a hand waving at them from outside the window.

"That's Gary!," Ash exclaimed.

"Hmm, what is he doing over here?" Misty wondered.

"Let's go and see," Ash decided and hurried out of the house with Misty, Brock and May following him.

They met Gary outside, Ash noticed that he was looking really worried.

"What happened?" Ash asked him immediately.

Gary narrated the events of the entire day to Ash and his friends. Ash couldn't believe what he was hearing. He resisted the urge to say 'I told you so' when Gary told him that Castor was going to be responsible for his parents' deaths.

"You did the right thing Gary," Brock said.

"But it was only temporary. I need to stop that Castor to ensure my parents' safety," Gary replied.

"Don't worry, we will help you in stopping him," Ash promised.

"I don't think you can help me. We don't even have a proper plan," Gary muttered, shaking his head in dismay.

Ash suddenly felt a strange feeling of protectiveness upon seeing Gary look so helpless and dejected. He wanted to comfort him, to tell him that everything would be alright and they would find a way of stopping Castor.

Just then, he heard Misty speaking from besides him, "If we don't have a plan we can always make one," she said to Gary, "I think first of all Ash and May should apply for the summer-camp jobs. If they get those jobs it would be easier for us to help you."

"Professor Oak was really impressed with me. I am sure he would offer the jobs to us," May told them.

"Not after my fiasco though," Ash said to his friends, "I shouldn't have battled with Castor." For the first time Ash was feeling sorry about rashly deciding to fight with Castor. What if he had made too much of a bad impression and ruined any chance of getting a job at Professor Oak's summer-camp?

"Ï don't know, maybe gramps would forgive you and consider you for the post," Gary replied, "But what I don't get is that, how will you and May coming to the summer-camp help me in stopping Castor?"

"They will help you in finding out more information about him. We can stop him only if we know more about him," Misty explained.

"Alright," Gary agreed.

"We will definitely stop Castor and save your parents," Ash told Gary. He took Gary's hand in his and gave it a light squeeze.

"I had came to the past to save something else too, but looks like it doesn't need any saving," Gary spoke, staring deeply into Ash's eyes.

"What else did you wanted to save?" Brock asked him.

"Nothing," Gary muttered, "I'll see you all later," he said and left. But just before leaving he glanced at Ash and gave him a small smile.

Ash smiled back in return. Suddenly getting the post at Professor Oak's summer-camp felt even more important to him.

The next day, Ash and May once again walked down the path to Professor Oak's lab. Ash apologized for his behavior the earlier day, but to his surprise the Professor seemed to agree with him. He too believed that Castor was torturing the Honedge. In fact, Ash felt that he had somehow made it into the Professor's good-books by battling Castor.

"That Honedge is now under my care," Professor Oak told him, "And I must thank you young man, for your timely actions yesterday."

"No problem Professor, I am glad that I could help the Honedge," Ash replied.

Their interview with Professor Oak was quite easy. Professor Oak seemed to deduct that he and May were really talented trainer and coordinator and gladly offered them the jobs at his summer-camp. Ash and May beamed at each other and accepted the posts offered to them.

As Ash and May were returning from Professor Oak's lab, Ash spotted Gary sitting all alone under a tree, he looked deep in thought about something.

"He is trying so hard to save his parents, isn't he?" May commented, "And he wants to stop Castor too. That's admirable."

"Yeah, I hope we are able to help him," Ash said to her.

"You really care about him, right?" May asked him softly.

"Yeah," Ash spoke. He saw May turn towards him and give him a mysterious smile. It was almost as if she had guessed something but wasn't ready to talk about it.

But Ash knew that she was right. He really did cared a lot about Gary.

* * *

 **Author Note:- Hope you all enjoyed it! If you have any suggestions or concrit feel free to tell. :)**


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